Final FantasyA Crossover
by Suzaku no miko
Summary: Complete!Has it ever been done before! A HUGE crossover btwn. ff7-10? interesting..well, here's my best attempt...please R&R!
1. Default Chapter

Final Fantasy... A Crossover...  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
Disclaimers: I do not own the series Final Fantasy or its characters....I do own Angela, however...  
  
Chapter 1: Final Fantasy VII  
  
"Cloud...where are you? I can't see you..." a voice called out to him. The young man looked all around him, trying to search for the familiar voice in the dark void surrounding him. "Who's there?" he cried, his voice followed by distant echoes...of other voices.. as if they were replying.. or were they mocking him? "Cloud..it's dark in here. I'm scared." the voice spoke again, now with a hint of sobs. Could this person be crying? And why did it need him so badly? This was all Cloud could think about as he started running, not knowing where he was going. It was too dark to tell... "Cloud!"   
  
"Cloud! How many times am I going to have to call you?!" This made Cloud quickly rise up from his bed. "Tifa?!... It was just a dream..." he panted, beads of sweat falling down his face. He looked around to find that he was back in his room, sitting up on his bed, in his white tank top and black shorts, with the bed sheets wrapped around his lower body, looking at...her...  
  
"Are you okay? You've been tossing and turning and Barret was complaining that you were yelling in your sleep. Was it because you ate so much last night?" Tifa asked, a worried look on her face. "Yeah... that's probably it.. Don't worry about it." he assured her, trying to form that careless smirk he always flaunted. "Okay... well, I was just calling you to get up. It's time for breakfast." she replied, using a tissue to wipe the sweat from his face. "Okay, I'll be there soon. Let me just get ready and I'll come down soon." Cloud smiled. "Sure." Tifa agreed, and soon left Cloud to do whatever he had to do.  
  
It has been several weeks since the incident. Cloud and his friends had just saved the world from Sephiroth and all of the evil that accompanied him, including Meteor. Even though they vanquished the evil that threatened the very life of the Earth, Cloud still had a sense of something was missing. He could not forget what happened...  
  
*FLASHBACK*Waking abruptly from a mysterious dream of Aeris, Cloud quickly made his way to the center of the City of the Ancients. He could feel something was wrong as he made his way closer to the bottom of the crystalline stairs. Then, he could see her... 'What is she doing?' Cloud wondered as he, Tifa, and Barret made their way to the central pedestal that stood at the center of the city. "Let's go see what Aeris is doing.." Barret announced, about the jump on the step. But an extended hand stopped him from progressing...  
  
"What's wrong, Cloud?" Tifa asked. "I'll go alone." Cloud replied, not taking his gaze off of the Ancient. Soon, Cloud was on the same pedestal that Aeris was on. He kept watching her..watching her pray... Her eyes closed and her hands folded over one another... When suddenly, he felt as if he was not himself....  
  
Cloud then unsheathed his sword, soon bringing it over his head, aimed at Aeris. Just as he was about to swing... "CLOUD!" Tifa's voice could be heard. "What you doin'?!" Barret also cried. Breaking out of the daze, Cloud suddenly realized what he was doing and quickly dropped his sword. Aeris then noticed him, forming a gentle smile. Neither of them felt the new presence... nor noticed the shadow... and suddenly...  
  
"Oh God!! Even in my daydreams I keep seeing that same scene played over and over again!" Cloud exclaimed, smacking himself in the face with a magazine he had picked up from the floor. 'You know what? Let me blast some music and keep that breakfast in my mind while I get dressed.' he told himself, grabbing his favorite heavy metal CD off of his dresser. He then popped in the "Wild Moombas" into the large, black stereo system and pressed play.   
  
Meanwhile, downstairs.....   
"Sounds like he's stressed out again." Tifa shook her head as she placed the breakfast-filled plates onto the table. Tifa, alone, made pancakes with syrup, french toast, bacon, eggs, and home fries. This was all to be washed down with a nice, cold glass of orange juice and steaming-hot mug of coffee.   
  
Just after saving the world from Meteor and Sephiroth, everyone went back to their respected homes. Cid Highwind went back to Rocket town, Yuffie back at Wutai, Vincent back at Nibelheim (no one really understood why, mind you), Cait Sith at the Golden Saucer, and Red XIII back to Cosmo Canyon. This left Tifa, Barret, and Cloud. Tifa felt she couldn't go back to Midgar, there were too many bad memories left there. So, taking Marlene with them, they decided to settle at Kalm and became permanent residents.  
  
Soon, everyone had made their way down to the kitchen and joined Tifa to eat. Immediately, Barret served Marlene first before serving himself, not allowing Tifa to do anymore. Tifa then decided to serve Cloud, ignoring his gentle declines to not serve him. And finally, Tifa sat down after serving herself. Just as they were about to take the first bite...  
  
"Guys!! We got trouble!" a very exhausted, breathless Cait Sith exclaimed as he burst through the front door.   
  
To be continued.... 


	2. In FF8 world

Chapter 2: Final Fantasy VIII  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
Disclaimers: I do not own the series Final Fantasy or its characters....I do own Angela, however...  
*NOTE* Just want to let everyone know that each chapter for the beginning will be about one of the FF's that I am mixing together. So between chapters, the FF's will alternate. This will just be until the crossover actually occurs...Sorry about the confusion!  
  
"Is there something you needed, Headmaster Cid?" the young, blonde-haired woman asked as she walked into the room. "Ah, Quistis! I need you for an important job." the aging man greeted her, turning to face her. "Is it something serious? You look a bit distressed." she noticed, watching his stern expression. "Well, we don't know for sure, yet..." a voice replied.  
  
Quistis then turned around to find Xu. The dark-haired woman nodded, smiling. Both then turned back to the headmaster. "It turns out that there is an open portal by Balamb. We don't know much about it or how it opened, but we do know that we must send seeds to find out what's going on." Cid began to explain, pacing back and forth.   
  
"Who were you planning to send out?" Quistis questioned him. "Well, several others that were training to be seeds earlier this year have completed their training. So I think we shall send them out along with your group. Is that alright with you, Quistis?" Xu asked. "So, just gather everyone on this list and you should all report here as soon as possible. Is that understood?" Cid continued. "Completely." Quistis replied, slowly taking the paper from his elderly hands. And with that, she walked quickly out of the room.  
  
Elsewhere.....  
"Squall-chan! Let's go! Everyone's waiting!" she exclaimed, pulling the young leader's arm. "Rinoa, don't call me that! And could you hold on a second? I'll be with you in a minute." a very beet-red Squall replied. He then tried to grab the tray of food that he had waited so long for.   
  
There was really nothing to do, especially since peace had finally been brought to the world. Several weeks after defeating Ultimecia and stopping the "Time Compression", life had returned to normal...at least for some people...  
  
"Zell! Give that back!" Selphie yelled, chasing Zell and Irvine throughout the whole cafeteria. "Yo, Irvine! Catch!" Zell cried, tossing the small moogle plush across several tables. "Leave Mog alone!" Selphie cried. "What's going on here?" a voice interrupted as its owner caught the plush.  
  
"Can I get Mog, Seifer?" Selphie begged, rushing towards him. "Come on, Seifer...give it to her." a young woman next to him whispered in his ear. "Fine. Don't want chicken-wuss to get too hyper. Ha ha!" the tall young man laughed, placing an arm around his girlfriend, Angela as he handed the stuffed moogle to Selphie. "Aw! You're no fun!" Irvine and Zell pouted.  
  
"Well, that was kind of mean, guys." Angela reprimanded them, shaking a slender finger at them. Seifer then chuckled and kissed her soft, straight, midnight-blue hair. She began to giggle with her sapphire-blue eyes sparkling as she looked up at him. "I really like your boots, Angela." Rinoa stated as she and Squall made their way towards the group. "Thanks." Angela winked, looking down at her outfit. She wore a black tank top with a cream-colored long-sleeved sweater that was off-the-shoulder. She also wore chestnut-brown shorts and black tights underneath with chestnut-brown cowboy-style boots.  
  
"So, are we gonna' play or what?" Irvine asked, impatiently as he took out a pack of Triple Triad cards from the pocket of his coat. "Yeah, we're bored." Zell chimed in. "You guys are so much like little kids." Squall chuckled, already sitting at a table that could fit the whole group. But just as they were about to grab seats...  
  
"Good! Everyone is here!" Quistis burst into the room. "What's wrong, Quistis?" Squall asked, noticing the serious look on her face. "I need you all to come with me. The Headmaster wants to see everyone. I mean all of you." the blonde young woman replied. "Even us?" Rinoa asked, pointing to herself, Seifer, and Angela.   
  
"Yes, including the three of you. I mean, you all have passed your seed exams. For Seifer, finally..huh.." Quistis slightly giggled. "Anyways..." Seifer grumbled. "Alright. Let's go. It must be serious if Headmaster Cid wants everyone." Selphie stated, already rising from her seat. Soon, everyone rose from their chairs and began to make their way to the Headmaster's office on the third floor...  
  
To be continued..... 


	3. In FF9

Chapter 3: Final Fantasy IX  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
Disclaimers: I do not own the series Final Fantasy or its characters...I do own Angela, however...  
  
The young man made his way quickly through the castle halls. He rushed past the castle guards with worry impressioned on his face. When he came to the large double doors of the queen's chambers, two Alexandrian guards stepped in his path.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" one of them asked. "Just let me through!" the furious youth cried. "What is going on out here?" another voice asked. "Don't worry, your highness. We will take care of the problem." the female guard stated, holding the furious young man.  
  
"Wait! What is this all about, Zidane?" Queen Garnet asked, looking deep into his eyes. They were filled with anger and worry, yet somehow, in his eyes, they showed the soft look of caring. "Some kinda' portal opened on the Shimmering Island! We gotta' team up again!" Zidane exclaimed, releasing himself from the Alexandrian guards' tight hold.  
  
"Alright...Where should I meet you?" Garnet asked, slowly stepping back into her chambers. "I still gotta' find Rusty. So, just wait with the others at the airship dock. I'll get there as fast as I can!" Zidane explained, already making his way back down the hall. 'I wonder what is happening...' she thought to herself, watching him leave.  
  
Elsewhere....  
As Zidane ran through the great hall, he looked all around him, searching for Steiner. But when he turned his view to the front of him, it was too late to find out what he was about to crash into. He fell back onto the floor, a bit dazed from the collision. "You really should watch where you're going." a soft yet stern voice told him.  
  
Zidane slowly raised his head to find out what or who he crashed into. "Beatrix! Sorry about that." he cried, quickly rising to his feet. "Now, what on earth is making you run through the castle like a mad man?" she asked, placing a hand on her slender hip. "I was lookin' for Rus...er, Steiner. Have you seen him?" he stuttered.  
"I last saw him near the kitchen area."  
"What was he doing there? I thought his station was around Queen Garnet."  
"I really don't know but you could go check to see if he's still there."  
"Alright, thanks! See ya' later!" he said, starting to make his way down to the kitchen area. When he arrived, he saw nothing but the master chef and the many cooking meisters. "What you want here?" the booming voice asked. Zidane startled, nearly lost his balance.  
"You seen Steiner around?"  
"He just left. He go to find Queen Garnet. Now out! You in way of cooking!"  
"Okay! Take it easy!" and with that, Zidane left.  
  
Going back to his "quest", he began to make his way back to the exit of the castle. When suddenly...  
"You've done it again, haven't you, you..you ruffian!"   
"Rusty! Where have ya' been?!" Zidane cried, recognizing the voice. He quickly turned around and stepped in front of the large knight.  
"What have you done with the queen?!"  
"Oh, geez! Let's not start that again! Listen! We gotta' get moving! There's somethin' goin' on at the Shimmering Isle that we gotta' check out! Garnet and the others are already in the airship! Let's go!" Zidane explained, grabbing Steiner's hand as he began to run...  
  
To be Continued.... 


	4. Master Plan

Chapter 4: The Master Plan....  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
Disclaimers: I do not own the series Final Fantasy or its characters...I do own Angela, however...  
  
Between the different time zones, there is a place that no one knows about. Possibly, no one knows of its existence. It is a place where souls, that once occupied the body of an evil being, that was too far gone into the dark side (no relation to Star Wars) that could not go with the other souls. This place was known as the Dark Void.  
It is so dark and dreary, that no light could even pass through. And at the center of this dark void, there were certain souls that began to have discussions...  
  
"It is not long now before we can begin our reign. Isn't that right, Sephiroth?" one said.  
"Yes, then we will be able to switch between the worlds and wreak havoc everywhere we go. Yes, that sounds brilliant, Seymour."  
"And soon, I will start anew with my 'Time Kompression'."  
"Is that the only plan you have, Ultimecia?"   
"Do you have something better, Kuja?" she shot back.  
  
"Of course, that is why I have summoned all of you. Did you really think I would not have a plan ready?" Kuja asked, smiling devilishly.  
"Oh, yes..what is this 'Master Plan' that you keep mentioning?" Sephiroth asked, becoming more involved.  
"Yes, please explain." Ultimecia added, sarcastically.  
  
"Well, as you all know, we have not been fully destroyed as our little heroes thought they did. I have not wasted any time and got right to work. I thought and thought until finally I came up with the perfect plan to get revenge on our little heroes! And this will work perfectly now that we have been collecting energy from anyone who has dared to go near our open portals." Kuja began, becoming more excited.  
"So?" Seymour asked, not really amused.  
  
"So, now that we have joined forces, we could go to other worlds and confuse them. In doing so, we would be able to destroy these little pests."   
  
"Oh, I see. Because if we go back to the times that we each came from, the heroes there would already know how to fight us. That is why we must switch between the different times. Is that correct, Kuja?" Sephiroth smirked.  
  
"Exactly. Now, all we need now is to know where each of us are going. And from there, we will be able to take over those times and bring each world to the way we want it."   
  
"Hmmm.... It sounds okay. Fine then, I will go to your time, Kuja." Ultimecia laughed, evily.  
"I will go to yours, Sephiroth." Seymour added.  
"Then I will go to Seymour's, leaving Sephiroth to go to Ultimecia's. Is all agreed then?" Kuja concluded.  
"Those little maggots won't know what hit them." Sephiroth laughed.  
  
"Okay, let's go." Ultimecia smiled.   
  
To be continued... 


	5. FF 10

Chapter 5: Final Fantasy X  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
Disclaimers: I do not own the series Final Fantasy or its characters...I do own Angela, however....  
*IMPORTANT NOTE* A very special Thank you to Crystaleyes, for the helpful info on how Kimahri speaks. I totally forgot...^_^ I really appreciate your help! So, everyone, here is the revised Chapter 5, there's not much difference except for Kimahri's lines...  
*NOTE* Heee, bet I made everyone think I forgot about FFX! Well, Chapter 4 was just a brief interlude. And now we're back to the good guys, but in the world of the FFX. I could never forget about a FF. ^_^ Well, here's Chapter 5! Enjoy!  
  
As the sun was slowly setting, the sky turned a soft, velvety red. It was the usual end to his day. Just laying on the beach and daydreaming. Thinking.... wondering....what if....  
"Yo, Tidus!"  
  
Startled, the youth quickly rose to his feet with a muscular arm wrapping itself around his neck. Smiling, he turned to face his close friend.  
"What's up, Wakka?"   
"Nuthin'. Just checkin' up on ya'."   
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, you all of a sudden started being by yourself and I thought maybe somethin' was wrong."  
"Nah, everything's great. All except one thing..."  
"What's that?"  
"Trying to get a date with a certain somebody, if you know what I mean..."  
"Oh yeah... Still haven't the guts to ask her?"  
"Are you crazy? She's way above my level... I don't even think I could get even next to her..." the young blonde replied, sadly.  
  
"Man, this really got you down! You're not usually like this!" Wakka exclaimed, scratching his head.  
"You're tellin' me..."  
"Well...hmm.. Hey, why don't you let me help ya' out?"   
"You? Do I look that desperate?" he chuckled.  
"Hey, that was harsh!" Wakka replied, frowning.  
"Relax, just kidding... Okay... What have I got to lose?"  
"Alright! Believe me, this will work!" he cried, slapping his friend's back gently.  
  
Elsewhere....  
"Hi, guys! What are you up to?" Rikku greeted them, happily. "Nothing, really... What has you so excited?" Yuna replied, looking from Lulu beside her to Rikku opposite her. "She's probably excited about the festival that is going to take place tonight." Lulu replied, brushing back a few stray hairs.  
"What festival, Rikku?"  
"Only the biggest festival in the whole universe!"  
"You know she's easily excited. It's just going to be the festival for the moon. There's supposed to be a new moon tonight and that is the reason for the celebration."  
"Yeah, and it's also supposed to be a special night for young lovers!" Rikku chimed in, excitedly.  
"Really? I had no idea such a festival existed."  
"Where have you been?!"  
"Now, Rikku..."  
"Sorry...So, anyhoo.. are you going to go with Tidus?"  
"Wha...?"  
  
In an old command base....  
"Are you absolutely sure?" Auron asked, his face showing the expression of shock.  
"Too bad it true..." Kimahri replied, sadly.  
"But how? I mean...didn't we destroy it?"   
"We did! Don't understand.."  
"I think we're going to have to tell the others..."  
"Yeah...need to fight...."  
"And to think that we finally had peace..."  
  
Later that night, on the beach....  
"Okay...so you know what to do?" Wakka asked, holding Tidus by his shoulders.   
"I think so..." he replied.  
"Just relax. Everything will be fine. Just be cool and take your time. And if you need anything, I'll be right here. Now go! There she is." he comforted him, pushing him as he turned him towards an unsuspecting Yuna.  
  
Soon....  
"Yuna! Hey, Yuna!" a voice called. The young summoner slowly turned around, smiling, already recognizing the voice. "Hi, Tidus."   
"Man, am I glad I finally caught up to you!"   
"Is something wrong?"  
"I just wanted to know if you had any plans later tonight..."  
"No...Why?"  
"Just wanted to know if you would go with me to the festival tonight. But if you don't, then it's okay. I know how busy you are and everything..." he replied, shuffling his feet.  
"I would love to go."   
"Really?! Great! Okay, I'll see you later then! Nine sound okay? We'll meet at the dock. Alright! See ya'!" Tidus exclaimed, suddenly lighting up. And with that, he quickly ran off, leaving a very confused, yet happy Yuna.  
  
At the festival....  
The streets were filled with lots of people, carts with food and games, and many colorful decorations. Meeting at the center square, Tidus, Yuna, Lulu, Rikku, Wakka, Kimahri, and Auron greeted each other with big smiles and a couple of frowns.  
  
"What's wrong, Auron, Kimahri? You shouldn't have a frown at a festival..." Yuna asked, noticing their sad expressions.  
"Bad news...." Kimahri replied, sadly.  
"Is somethin' goin' down?" Tidus asked.  
"I feel that we are going to have to fight again... We must join forces..." replied a very concerned Auron.  
  
To be continued... 


	6. FF7once again

Chapter 6: The Call...  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
Disclaimers: I do not own the series Final Fantasy or its characters...I do own Angela, however...  
*NOTE* Wow! I'm so happy that all of you readers like my story thus far! Thanks so much! I know some of you are wondering why was Steiner giving Zidane a tough time back in Chapter 3..well..let's just put it this way...some things will never change. I just can't see a fic of FF9 without the humurous quarrels between Zidane and Steiner.   
And speaking of things that will never change, is in this chapter. Even though Shinra and the Turks are no longer around, in my story, Cait Sith is still operated by Reeve and now uses his spy skills to help Cloud and his friends. Just needed to clear that up...Now, with that out of the way, please enjoy Chapter 6!  
  
"What's wrong, Cait Sith?!" Tifa cried, startled by his sudden appearance.   
"I think everybody better stay sittin' down for this one. We also have to wait for the others..." he replied, frowning.  
"What do you mean? And what others?" Cloud asked, confused.  
"Yo cat! What the hell is goin' on?!" Barret exclaimed, losing his patience.  
"I can't say much until everyone gets here... All I can say right now is that there's been strange things happenin' at Sephiroth's crater. Anybody who's gone there recently never came back..." as soon as he finished the last word, everyone had shocked expressions.   
  
Later....  
Everyone gathered in the living room of the house. Sitting in all the available space were Tifa, Cloud, Barret, Marlene, Cait Sith, Yuffie, Vincent, Red XIII, and Cid.   
"Okay, now... Explain what this is all about." Cid stated, taking a puff from his cigarette.  
"Well, it's like this...Oh, wait a second..." the large toy began when it was suddenly cut off.  
"What's going on?!" Yuffie exclaimed.   
  
"I just received another transmission from Reeve. It turns out that a pair of scientists have just disappeared! That's six already in just this month!" Cait Sith cried.  
"What do you mean?! How long has this been going on?!" Tifa asked, getting scared now.  
"This all started just last month. Some scientists still studying the earth noticed some high energy waves coming from Sephiroth's crater. Soon after, they began sending people to go check it out. So far about 13 were sent to investigate and none came back." he explained, sadly.  
  
"Is there no explanation for the disappearances?" Red XIII asked, looking at each person around him.  
  
Cait Sith slowly shook his head, closing his eyes. Cloud, who had remained silent, looked at the group. He then gave one of his thoughful smirks and chuckled.  
"And that's why we must join up again and find out what's going on!" the young leader exclaimed, his cerulean eyes sparkling.  
  
"That's right! It's up to us!" Yuffie chimed in.  
"Yeah, we saved the world once. And we can do it again!" Barret joined in.  
"Uh...I don't know about anyone else, but we don't even know what the hell we're dealing with....Doesn't anybody have a plan on what to do?" Cid suddenly interrupted the joyful cheering.  
"Cid's right...What if it's something enormous? We need a plan to deal with anything we might encounter." Vincent agreed, rising from his seat.  
  
"Which is also another reason why I came..." Cait Sith chuckled...  
  
To be continued... 


	7. FF8 Again?

Chapter 7: The Mission...  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
Disclaimers: I do not own the series Final Fantasy or its characters...I do own Angela, however...  
*NOTE* Okay, thanks for the help, but could you guys be a little more courteous? So I made a couple of mistakes! I'm only human! I fixed my errors and I will admit to them, but it would be nice if you readers could be a little nicer. So please...be easy!  
Now, in this chapter, we're back in the FF8 world. Just want to tell everyone, and I'm sure that people noticed, that Seifer acts a little differently, so does Squall. They're a little more caring, guess because I created a girlfriend for Seifer! And also because Squall is dating Rinoa. So, before anyone starts complaining about how Seifer or Squall are acting, I just want to point out that I made them this way! So, please just R & R!  
  
As the large group slowly made their way out of the elevator to the Headmaster Cid's office on the third floor, many of them felt their hearts race. Especially those who have just joined Seed. This was going to be their first true mission.  
Making their way through the short hall, some of them began to grow nervous...  
  
"Hey, kitten...Are you gonna' be okay? You look a little pale..." Seifer whispered to Angela, worried as he place a gentle arm around her.  
"Just a little nervous...What about you?" she replied.  
"A little...but not as much because I got you to protect." he smiled.  
"That's all very touching but we are expected to have a conference with the Headmaster..." Zell interrupted, trying to keep their minds on their objectivive.  
  
With a few gulps and chuckles, the group started to continue their way to the office where the Headmaster Cid was waiting for them. Pushing the door, Quistis led them to a spot in front of Cid.  
  
"Ah! That was quick! Good job, Quistis!" Cid acknowleged the once-more instructor.  
Nodding, she formed a very proud smile.  
  
"Is something the matter, Headmaster Cid?" Squall gently interrupted.  
"It's very funny you should ask that, Squall. As a matter of fact, there are a few issues I would like to discuss with you and your group." the elderly man replied, rising from his seat.  
  
He slowly made his way to a spot in front of them, to make sure he could get everyone's attention. Feeling that he succeeded, he then continued...  
  
"It turns out that there is something strange going on near Balamb. A rather large portal has opened up and caused some major disturbances in the form of enormous energy waves." Cid began to explain.  
"These energy waves have disrupted any messages that were sent by radio or broadcast. This has caused so many problems that Seed has been asked to go find out what is going on." Xu continued for him, before turning to Quistis to conclude the briefing.  
"So, as you should now know, this is the group that has been chosen to seek out the information that we need to find out what is causing those enormous energy waves. Are there any questions?" the young blonde woman concluded.  
  
"Why is it that we're always the guinea pigs?" Irvine chuckled softly.  
"Shhh..." Rinoa hushed him.  
"When are we to go on this mission?" Squall asked, feeling like the only one who was mature.  
"As soon as you are ready. I wish you the best of luck and please take care of yourselves." Cid smiled, going back to his seat.  
  
And soon, they left, making their way to the elevator.   
  
"What do you think is going on?" Rinoa asked as Selphie pushed the button to call the elevator.  
"That's what we're about to find out." Quistis answered.  
  
Soon, the elevator came and everyone piled in. The ride seemed so long and silent as they rode the elevator to the first floor. When they arrived, everyone gathered around the garden map and awaited for any instructions.  
  
"So, what are we going to do now?" Seifer asked as Angela shyly grabbed his hand.  
  
"Ok, we'll meet back here in exactly one hour. Go do whatever you need to do and come back here. I know that for some of you it's going to be your first mission and you're scared. But don't worry, everything will be fine and you won't be alone. That is why we are a team, to give support and help each other." Squall said, trying to put many of their minds at ease.  
  
"That was so comforting, Squall..." Rinoa smiled.  
"Ok, we'll see each other in an hour!" Selphie exclaimed, running off.  
  
And soon, everyone went their seperate ways....  
  
In the library....  
"So, I hear you're going on a tough mission." the library girl, (let's give her a name..how about Jennifer???) Jennifer said to Zell on the other side of the counter.  
"Yeah...Sorry, I won't be able to make it tonight..." he apologized, looking away from her gaze.  
  
"It's ok... I just hope you'll come back safely. And I also wish you the best of luck!" she smiled, gently placing a kiss on his cheek.  
  
With a huge grin, Zell nodded and left.  
  
In the cafeteria....  
"Hey, Selphie...Everything ok?" Irvine asked, sitting beside her.  
"Yeah, I just hope it's nothing bad." she replied, sadly.  
"Well, don't worry! I'm here to protect you! Nothing will happen to you!" he assured her, gently holding her chin to let her look at him.  
  
Selphie then made a small giggle and nodded.  
  
In the Dorm area....  
"Don't worry, Quistis...You'll do fine." Xu smiled, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder.  
"Thanks, it's just been so long since I was an instructor."  
"Well, I believe in you."  
"I'm glad."  
"So, have you asked him yet?"  
"Oh, you mean Jack? The new Seed?"  
"Yeah? Have you? The ball is coming up soon. And you should really get a date."  
"Oh...um..." she blushed....  
  
In the Stage Area....  
Angela was looking at the breathtaking view as the Garden slowly moved to Balamb. She rested her head on her hands, making a deep, sad sigh.  
  
"Everything okay?" a voice interrupted.  
  
Not turning around, she shook her head no.  
"Come on, you can tell me." Seifer insisted, now standing next to her.  
"If you must know, I'm just really scared."  
"Yeah...I know how you feel..just don't tell anyone about it. Okay?" he chuckled.  
"Well, I feel a little better that I'm not the only one that feels that way." she replied, stepping into his embrace.  
"Of course not..But don't worry, I'll protect you." he whispered, wrapping his arms around her.  
  
She then closed her eyes and rested her head on his warm chest.  
  
By the entrance....  
"Are you going to be okay, Rinoa?" Squall asked, noticing her unusual frown.  
"I'm just a little worried. Maybe it's because it's my first mission as a Seed." she replied, turning to face him.  
"Well, like I said before, you have nothing to worry about. You're not going to be alone and we'll all be there for each other."  
"Thanks, Squall. It's a good thing you're going to be there." she smiled, planting a quick, small kiss on his cheek.  
"Oh...well...anytime. Hey, it's almost time...we should get going now." he blushed, starting to turn.  
  
In front of the garden map....  
"Is everyone here?" Squall asked, looking at the group before him.  
"Yeah, anybody not here raise your hand...heh heh.." Zell teased, making Irvine laugh with him.  
"If you two are done now..." Quistis reprimanded them, giving them a stern look.  
  
And immediately, the duo stopped.   
  
"The Garden has now landed at Balamb. Will those taking part in the Balamb mission please start going to the parking lot to get into the awaiting vehichle." the voice came over the intercom.  
  
"That's our cue. Let's go." Squall announced, already heading towards the parking lot.  
  
To be continued.... 


	8. A MiniBreak From Action

Chapter 8: Life in Sephiroth's Crater?  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
Disclaimers: I do not own the series Final Fantasy or its characters...I do own Angela however...  
  
"Are you sure we should be here, John?" one of the scientists asked. "And why shouldn't we be?" his partner, John, replied, looking back at him with a confused look. "Well, it's been quite a while since anyone has been here and who knows what's lurking down here..." the first shuddered.   
  
"Oh relax, Dave! We did not go through 10 years of school just to back out now! We are full-fledged scientists now!"  
"Yeah, but..."  
"Yeah, but nothing! Now, come on! Help me look for what we came here for!"  
"Fine..." trying to confine a shudder, before going to help his partner.  
  
Even though there was no more Sephiroth, scientists who had studied under Hojo's teaching still wanted to continue experiments. These two particular scientists had the highest potential and became Hojo's favorites.   
  
Just recently, after studying their computers, they had noticed an abnormal amount of energy deep within the large crater where Sephiroth had been defeated. They then decided it was up to them to find out if there was some activity going on that emitted such energy that almost short-circuited their computers.   
  
Both young men waved their tiny, hand-held computers so that they could pick up any readings of where the source of energy is. They walked deeper into the pitch-black crater, making their way slowly down the rocky cliffs.  
  
After some time, they finally reached the bottom. It was not a very welcoming sight!   
"What the hell happened here?!" John cried, startled by the sight in front of them.   
The two scientists looked all around them and found flowing streams and puddles of the lifestream. There was a rather large mountain of rubble and rocks from which the lifestream came from. No light, except near the entrance and from their flashlights brightened the room. Other than that, it was pitch black. But from what they could tell, it looked like a great struggle occured here... perhaps when Cloud and his team were last here?  
  
"What do you think of it?" Dave asked, wildly waving his flashlight about the room, making sure it was just he and his partner that were in the large cavern. "Well... Let's just get started." he said with a sigh, ignoring his partner's behavior. When suddenly...  
"Did you hear that?!"  
"What is it?!"   
  
Both quickly placed their mini-computers in front of them, aimed at the rubble. John, ever so trying not to lose control, concentrated on his mini-computer, slowly waving it over the rubble. "Are you picking up anything?" Dave asked, after some time, using his own gadget. Shaking his head no, John slowly started slowly making his way towards the rubble.   
  
"What are you doing?! Are you nuts?!" Dave loudly whispered.  
"Shhh!!! I just want to know where the noise came from. Now come on, help me."   
"Okay, but..."  
And then....they vanished....  
  
To be continued... 


	9. FF9 again!

Chapter 9: The Mystery of the Shimmering Isle...  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
Disclaimers: I do not own the series Final Fantasy or its characters. They belong to Square...I do own Angela, however...  
  
"Okay, there it is!" Erin announced as she flew the Hilda Garde 3 over the icy islands of the north. As they neared the island, Zidane and the others had gathered on the dock of the ship. Looking around, he made sure everyone was there before giving his instructions.  
  
"Okay, we don't know what we're going to see so everyone needs be aware of their surroundings...ok? I suggest that everyone should be in a group with at least two people."   
"Why just two?" Steiner asked, somewhat confused.  
  
"Well, it will be much easier to cover more ground. This way, we can report what we have seen, if anything, more quickly." Garnet explained.  
"So, who's going with who?" Eiko asked, growing imaptient.  
  
"Well, here's what I think... Me and Garnet. Vivi and Steiner. Freya and Amarant. Quina and Eiko. Does that sound like a good plan?" Zidane suggested, winking at Garnet beside him.  
  
"Yeah, figures he would stay with Garnet." Amarant mumbled.  
"Did you say something?" Vivi asked, looking up at the tall fighter.  
  
Smiling slyly, he shook his head.  
  
"We go now?" Quina asked, now becoming the impatient one.  
  
Chuckling softly, Zidane nodded his head and began to lead the way to the open door. The rest of the group soon followed, making sure they had all of their neccessities. First, Garnet and Zidane left and went their own way. Soon after, Vivi and Steiner. Freya and Amarant. And finally, Eiko and Quina.  
  
Suddenly, after some time of walking, Garnet felt a little uneasy....  
  
"Hey, is something wrong?" Zidane asked, noticing her facial expression.  
"I don't know... There was just a sudden outburst of energy, almost too much... It almost knocked me out!" she replied, putting a slender gloved hand to her head.  
"Maybe we're getting closer..."   
"..."  
"Just stay close to me..Everything will be okay."  
  
Garnet then nodded, forming a tiny smile. When suddenly....  
  
"Zidane! Everyone! I think I found something!" it was Eiko. Everyone then quickly left the path they were taking and rushed to where Eiko and Quina were.  
  
"What is it, Eiko?!" Freya called, as she and the rest of the group approached them.  
  
What they then saw was so unbelievable and so unimaginable, they could not believe their eyes.  
  
"What is it?" Vivi asked, slowly moving back.   
"It looks like some kind of portal. I read about them in a book once. I never knew they were real!" Garnet exclaimed, her eyes wide with curiosity.  
"Hmm...so this is what was going on here. Well, are we ready?" Zidane asked, looking from the portal to each of his friends.  
  
"What?! What are you saying, Zidane?!" Freya cried.  
"Are you crazy?! We do not know what's on the other side! For all we know it could lead to our doom!" Steiner added.  
  
"Okay, so we don't know what's on the other side! And we never will know because we didn't go explore! Then days after this, you'll be driving yourself crazy because you didn't go and find out what's there! Will you do that everytime you have the chance to go somewhere new?!" Zidane cried.  
  
"He's right... As a matter of fact, I'm quite curious myself." Garnet added, looking towards the swirling, open portal.  
  
"Sound fun! Maybe good food on other side!" Quina exclaimed.  
"Yeah! I wanna' go too!" Eiko shouted, anxiously.  
  
Freya and Amarant nodded, also in agreement. The only ones who kept silent were Vivi and Steiner. Garnet then walked over to Vivi and looked down sweetly at the tiny black mage, to let him know he didn't have to be afraid. Understanding, he nodded, assuring her that he also wanted to go. Everyone then looked at Steiner, awaiting his decision.  
  
"Alright. Let's go." he finally said, with a heavy sigh.  
  
Everyone then cheered and began to prepare themselves. Taking deep breaths, one by one, entered the portal. Not knowing what they will encounter, they were still determined to solve this mystery of the Shimmering Isle....  
  
To be continued... 


	10. Let's go FFX!

Chapter 10: Getting Ready....  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
Disclaimers: I do not own the series Final Fantasy or its characters, they belong to Square...I do own Angela, however...  
  
Later that night, the group left the festival early and followed Auron and Kimahri back to the old command base. None of them could believe what they were just told....  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
"What are you talkin' about?" asked a very confused Tidus.  
"I can't really say much now until we get back to the military base. This is too much to talk about here, we need to be somewhere away from sensitive ears." Auron whispered into the blonde youth's ear.  
  
"Is it bad?" Rikku asked, following the group.  
  
"Very bad...it nightmare...." Kimahri replied, hurrying them along.  
  
"Why can't you just give us a clue?" Yuna insisted, stopping suddenly. This also made the rest of the group stop. Everyone then turned around to find a very concerned Yuna. Slowly, a very serious Auron came up to her. Making a grim smile, he looked down at her.  
"Unfortunately, our research showed us that Seymour is back...very much alive and well. We have to team up again and put a stop to him before there are disastrous results." he explained, sadly.  
  
At that moment, hearing those words, everyone gasped, shocked. No one wanted to believe what he was saying. Especially Yuna.  
  
Everything seemed to disappear all around her, time stopped, everything was frozen. Her eyes grew wide and began to quickly fill with tears. Not wanting to hear anymore, Yuna covered her ears and shut her eyes very tightly.  
  
"Let's just go..." Lulu stated, taking the young summoner under her arm.  
*End of FLASHBACK*  
  
"I say we go after him!" Wakka exclaimed, looking at his friends.  
"Uh...that's not all of it..." Auron began.  
"What do you mean?" a very confused Rikku asked.  
  
"He talk big portal! Scary...It close..." Kimahri tried to explain.  
"So that means we have to go investigate that too?" Tidus questioned.  
  
"Yeah... well, if everyone is ready we can leave right now and I'll explain the whole plan on the way there." Auron replied, looking around the room. On each of their faces, he saw expressions of angst, sorrow, even fear.   
  
"What are we waiting for?" Tidus replied, finally. He was sure that everyone was just as curious as he was and needed to end the mysteries... the mystery of why and how Seymour came back and the mystery of this strange and mysterious portal that just suddenly opened up. And with that, everyone left the room and into the awaited vehicle.  
  
Soon....  
"Okay, we have the location of the portal. Is everyone ready?" Rikku stated, staring at the screen in front of her.  
  
Everyone looked at each other before nodding in agreement.  
  
"Are you sure you're gonna' be okay, Yuna?" Tidus asked, noticing her frown. Forming a small smile, she looked up at him, assuring him that she was ready.  
  
After a few moments, they landed just next to the portal. There, they prepared themselves and slowly began to make their way, slowly, through it. They were frightened yet grateful that everyone was going in together. As long as they had each other, they weren't as afraid of anything.   
  
Just one question entered each of their minds.....  
Where were they going?  
  
To be continued...... 


	11. Can We Get Moving!

Chapter 11: Let's Friggin' Go Already! .....  
  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own final fantasy or its characters, they belong to Square...I do own Angela, however....  
  
Back in the Final Fantasy VII world......  
  
The Highwind flew high above the large, open portal. Each looked around, awaiting for the signal. The crew members watched on proudly, saluting them as the team prepared themselves for what was about to come.  
  
Soon, the large airship went as close to the ground as possible and the team departed...  
  
"Well, this is it! It's all or nothing!" Tifa exclaimed, trying to calm her nerves.  
"Looks like we won't have to go far..." Red XIII stated, noticing the large portal nearby.  
"Okay, let's mosey." Cloud ordered, making his way through the group.  
  
Cid sadly shook his head and soon began to cuss severely...  
"What the !#@*en hell is wrong with you?! You !#@*, you did it again!"  
  
"Yo, chill! Now are we gonna' go or what?!" Barret exclaimed, growing impatient.  
"Come on, I wanna' see what's over there!" Yuffie cried.  
"Fine...let's go!" Cloud grumbled, annoyed.  
  
But before the group could take another step towards the portal, a great bright light emitted from the portal and nearly blinded Cloud and Co.! Soon the light turned into a great ball of light and quickly shot out of the portal, towards the group before suddenly making a sharp turn straight and up to the sky; where it quickly disappeared from sight.  
  
"What the hell was that?!" Cait Sith and Yuffie exclaimed, simultaneously.  
"It was like some kind of energy or something..." Red XIII thought aloud, still looking up into the sky where it disappeared.  
"Let's just hope it's nothing else..." Tifa whispered.  
"Shall we try again? For the last $#^*&@ time!" Cid growled, even more angered now.  
"Right..." Cloud replied, shaking his head.  
  
Once again, the group attempted to enter the portal....  
When suddenly.........  
  
To be continued.... 


	12. What the Heck!

Chapter 12: Where The Heck Are We?!  
  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters, they belong to Square....I do own Angela, however.....  
  
"Not again!" Cid exclaimed, using his arm to shield his face from the dirt swirling around the group in the fierce wind.  
  
The tornado-like wind ripped past them as they so desperately tried to cover their eyes. Tifa and Yuffie, feeling as though they would be lifted from the ground, quickly latched onto Cloud. Vincent, Cid, Caith Sith, Barret, and Red XIII all did their best to stand their ground, not able to see what was happening. When suddenly, the wind stopped as quickly as it had come.   
  
When the group was able to open their eyes, they noticed that the portal had closed; instead, a large mound took its place.   
  
"What's going on?!" Tifa cried, looking at the pile in front of her.  
"It's a mound of people!" Cait Sith exclaimed, slowly backing away.  
  
As the mechanical cat finished his sentence, everyone immediately brought out their weapons! They held their fighting stances as they readied themselves for whatever would happen as the group of people slowly woke up....  
  
With a few moans and groans, the mysterious visitors slowly moved and separated themselves. Still sitting on the ground, they soon looked around, trying to figure out where they were, until their eyes fell onto Cloud and Co.  
  
"Who are you?!" a young woman in a yellow jumper asked.  
"Where is the queen?!" a large man in a very rusty armor exclaimed, taking out his sword and searched for the "missing queen".  
"Is this what was on the other side of the portal?" a blonde-haired woman asked, very similar-looking to the first woman that spoke.  
"You mean, you all came through the portal?!" Red XIII asked, amazed.  
  
Looking at each other, the groups slowly stood up and began to try to figure out what was happening. Those who had taken out their weapons were now putting them away. Feeling no threat from the other groups of people, one of the group leaders stepped forward.  
  
"Well, it looks like we're stuck here...I'm Squall. This is Zell, Quistis, Angela, Seifer, Rinoa, Irvine, and Selphie." a young man with a scar across his face and wipy brown hair spoke, introducing the group as each one stood at the call of his or her name.  
"Do ya' have any hotdogs?! Portal warps make me hungry...." Zell smiled, patting his stomach.  
"Is food all you can think about, Zell?" Quistis asked, annoyed.  
  
"Uh...okay...well, i'm Zidane. This is Queen Garnet, Vivi, Freya, Eiko, Amarant, and Steiner." a rather unusual looking man with what looked like to be a monkey's tail introduced himself and his friends.  
"Pleased to meet you." Vivi stuttered, looking from behind Garnet.  
"Can you tell us where we are?" Freya asked, stepping forward.  
  
"Sure...you're right by the Golden Saucer. I'm Cloud. And this is Tifa, Barret, Cid, Vincent, Yuffie, Red XIII, and Cait Sith." a very spiky, platinum-blonde haired young man explained, introducing his group.  
"What the ^%#$en hell is going on here?! First a tornado, then a $&^^% light, and now this!" Cid cursed.  
"Yo'! Why don't you chill, foo'!" Barret exclaimed.  
  
"Looks like it would be a good idea to team up. We could see what's goin' down, figurin' since we're stuck here until we can find out how to get back home.... I'm Tidus. Here's Auron, Rikku, Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri, and Yuna." a young man with very unusual clothes spoke.  
"We must have been brought here for a reason..." Lulu wondered aloud.  
"Well...let's just see..." Wakka mumbled.  
  
"Okay, now that we all know each other...how about we go talk some more inside?" Cait Sith asked, starting to walk towards the Golden Saucer.  
"In there?!" Eiko exclaimed.  
"I thought you weren't working there anymore." Tifa stated.  
"Relax! I still got v.i.p. status in there! We can get the lounge at the hotel and we can talk more there to figure out where to go from here." the cat waved his paw, uncaringly.  
"Guess we have no choice...if we want answers we're going to have to." Auron stated.  
  
Looks like there was no other way around it. The new groups had questions and it seemed like Cloud and Co. were the only ones with answers. They were all in a strange, new world and right now getting help was more important than making enemies.   
  
Everyone nodded, having agreed with the current plan. Soon, they found themselves walking into what seemed to be a large amusement park!  
  
To be continued..... 


	13. Foul!

Chapter 13: You Screwup!!  
  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters, they belong to Square... I do own Angela, however....  
  
*NOTE* Hey, readers! Sorry it took so long to put up this chapter!! Well, school just started not too long ago and it has been a hectic first few weeks! And I know that there's not much to this chapter, being really short! But I promise that I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can and they will be much bigger! In fact, I'm making the next chapter as we speak! So, expect that chapter to be up soon! Again, I'm really sorry and I'm glad you guys are still reading this! Having writer's block is not the greatest thing but don't worry! I'm fine and ready to go!   
  
  
High in the sky, not visible to anyone on the ground, a bright flash of light appeared and disappeared as quickly as it had come. In its place, was a floating castle. With walls and smaller towers, reaching even further to the sky, surrounding the tallest main tower. It was a very dull gray castle that rested on a very dark storm cloud. Inside, was even darker...  
  
"You imbeciles! How could you let this happen?!" a very angered Sephiroth exclaimed.  
"How were we supposed to know that the spell would backfire like it did?!" Ultimecia screamed back.  
  
Shaking his head, obviously annoyed by their constant bickering, Seymour teleported to another room. Kuja, who was observing the whole scene, began to chuckle quietly to himself. Hearing him, Ultimecia and Sephiroth turned to face the amused Kuja.  
  
"Just what is so funny?" Ultimecia questioned, insulted that he was laughing at them.  
"Oh, ye wielder of such a little mind. If we all ended up here, don't you think that they followed?" Kuja replied, slyly.  
"What are you saying?" Sephiroth asked, now becoming interested.  
  
"What I mean is... that if all the different portals somehow connected and ended up here...don't you think that the same thing happened to our little "friends"?" a very devilish Kuja explained.  
  
Suddenly realizing what he was talking about, a very sly smile appeared on the face of Sephiroth. Ultimecia then began to cackle and clap her hands together.  
  
"And now that we have them in one spot, we can get rid of all of them! Soon after, we can repair the portals and be able to take over the different worlds without any problems!" Seymour suddenly appeared, having heard the whole conversation.  
"I like how this is going.." Sephiroth smirked.  
"So...how should we handle them?" Ultimecia smiled evily.   
  
Kuja, always the constructor of evil plans, smirked, and stood in front of the little group.  
"Sephiroth, the life-stream still exists here, am I correct?"  
  
"Yes, it is the life-force of the planet..." Sephiroth answered, cooly.  
"What does that have to do with anything?" Ultimecia asked, impatiently.  
"And how could that be used to do any harm to them?" Seymour added.  
  
"Think...it's the life-force. Meaning it is some type of energy. What if we were to use that energy to our advantage?" Kuja asked.  
"But how could we possibly use that?" Ultimecia questioned.  
"Must you answer a question with another question?" Sephiroth turned to her, annoyed.  
  
At that instant, Ultimecia held out her hand until small sparks flowed from her palm and formed a ball of energy....  
  
"There's no use killing each other. Let's just take out our anger on our opponents..." Seymour stated.  
"Hmph..fine.." the sorceress replied, the energy having suddenly disappeared.  
"Now, if we're done arguing, I can explain how we can use the Life-stream...." Kuja stated, placing a hand on his hip.  
"Go on, we're listening." Seymour replied.  
  
To be continued.... 


	14. We got a problem

Chapter 14: Where Do We Go From Here?  
  
Author: Suzaku no Miko  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters..I do own Angela, however...  
  
  
In the dreary hall of the haunted hotel, deep within the Golden Saucer, sat a rather large group. Everyone was silent, waiting for someone to speak up...  
  
"Well, this is just great...So, what do we do now?" Seifer asked, growing impatient.  
"Something's bothering me..." Selphie stated, scratching her head.  
"What's wrong?" Zidane asked, curious.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Selphie stood up from her seat. "If we're all here, don't you think whoever made these portals is here too?"   
"What do you mean?" Quistis asked, unsure of what the young girl was saying.  
"Do ya' think it was because...nah..." Barret wondered.  
"What?!" Cloud exclaimed, his eyes becoming wide.  
  
"Yo'! Calm your spikey-headed ass down! I was just wonderin' if it had anything to do with that bright light that came out of the portal before you guys came through..." Barret replied, now standing up.  
"You mean..." Tidus began, still somewhat confused.  
"I'm getting a feeling that who's responsible for this mess was trying to do something...but what?" Squall asked.  
  
"And how are we supposed to find out who's behind this whole deal?" Wakka asked, rolling his eyes.  
  
"I think I might be able to help..." a voice suddenly piped up.  
  
Everyone then turned to find that it was Angela who spoke.  
  
"How?" Seifer asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"Well, when I was studying magic, for a class I was taking, I found this spell... That this ancient race from a long time ago created, can't remember the name at the moment....started with a 'C', I think... And I haven't exactly tried out the spell so I don't even know if it's going to work... But I copied it down...from this book on white magic." Angela explained, taking a piece of paper from her pocket.  
"Can I see it?" Garnet stood in front of the young SeeD.  
"Sure.." Angela said, handing the young queen the paper.  
  
After studying it for some time, Garnet's eyes suddenly became bright and a smile formed on her lips.  
  
"What is it?" questioned a very curious Eiko.  
"It recipe for food?" Quina asked, happily bouncing about.  
  
"Even better! I have read this in a chapter about ancient civilizations from a library book in the castle. The book was about white magic, possibly the same one. It is a 'Reocurrance Spell'. It's used when you want to know about something that has happened in the past. All you have to do is just concentrate on what you want to see and say these words three times. Soon, the image will appear in your mind and something that happened in the past will play again in your mind." Garnet explained, happily.  
"No sound like good food..." the Qu pouted, shaking its head.  
  
"That's all nice to know, but how are we supposed to cast it?" Amarant asked, folding his arms.  
"He right." Kimahri agreed.  
"Does it say anything else?" Lulu questioned, holding her moogle doll close.  
  
"I didn't write it down but the spell required at least one ....one.... um...it started with a 'C'...a person from that civilization...but I can't remember it...." Angela tried to remember.  
"One what?" Freya looked up.  
"I can't really remember either..." Garnet pouted.  
  
"Come on, kitten! You gotta' remember! What do you need to cast the spell?" Seifer begged, gently clutching his girlfriend's shoulders.  
"Don't pressure her or she won't remember..." Tifa stated.  
  
"C..Cetra?" a voice suggested.  
"That's it! We need a Cetra! Thanks, Cloud!" Angela suddenly remembered, smiling at the young man.  
"Oh no..." Red XIII shook his head.  
"What's wrong?" Rinoa asked, kicking her feet against the chair.  
  
"We can't...use the spell..." Tifa whispered, sadly.  
"But we need to know what's going on! I mean, all we have to do is find the Cetra, right?" protested a very excited Rikku.  
  
"The last two Cetra are no longer with us. They were both killed..." Cloud looked to the floor.  
  
"What do you mean the last two?! They were both killed?!" Irvine exclaimed.  
  
Picking up the silent Marlene, Barret heaved a heavy, grieving sigh. "The mom, Ifalna, and her daughter, Aeris...the last two of the Cetra....were both killed....A long time ago..."  
  
"How...." began a shocked Angela.  
  
"Aeris was with us. We were after Sephiroth because of all the things he had done... We went to the Lost City of the Ancients to find some answers...but Sephiroth found and killed Aeris! After that, we found out about Aeris' past and learned that her father was a brilliant scientist, Professor Gast, and her mother was a Cetra, Ifalna. When Aeris was just born, Professor Hojo, a sick man, broke into their home, killed Professor Gast and Ifalna just barely got away with Aeris. She was badly hurt and died in a train station in Midgar where she left Aeris to a woman who became her new mother..." explained a very depressed Cloud.  
  
"So, that's it?....We don't have a chance at all?! You mean it's over before we even got to fight?!" Zidane cried, jumping out of his seat, enraged.  
"There could be another way.....but Aeris and her mom were the only survivors to that ancient race, the Cetra, that Angela was talking about." Red XIII lowered his head, sadly.  
"That's right...it was in the chapter on ancient civilizations...the Cetra being one of them... And these civilizations are no longer in existence." Garnet suddenly remembered.  
  
The room suddenly became silent, everyone holding his or her head low. Many within the group, not even knowing anything about the strange land they were in, grew depressed. All they wanted to do was to go back home....  
  
"I can't believe it... What are we going to do?" Yuna asked, resting her head on Tidus next to her.   
"There's no way we can substitute for the absence of the Cetra?" Auron asked, looking at Yuna's sad expression.  
  
"Oh my gosh! I nearly forgot! In the case there is no Cetra present, you need those who can use white magic. But to equal the power of a Cetra...you need three white magic users..." Garnet exclaimed, clapping her hands together.  
"You're serious?!" Cloud asked, wide-eyed.  
"This is perfect! And we just might have that!" Zell exclaimed happily, a great smile on his face as everyone around him cheered.  
  
"So...just to match one Cetra's power, we need three regular white magic users...damn.." Wakka huffed, resting his head on his hand.  
"And the great thing is that we have a chance now." Vivi happily added.  
  
"Does that mean only one will get the vision or will all three get to see it?" Squall asked.  
"Oh yeah...well, let's just try it and see what happens..." Angela realized, placing a finger on her chin.  
"So, that means Eiko, Garnet, and who else is going to cast it?" Zidane looked around the room.  
  
"I will." Angela spoke up.  
"Damn, I'm finding out things I never knew about you before, kitten." Seifer winked.  
"You can use white magic?" Vincent looked at Angela.  
"Yup. So, let's get started!" she happily replied.  
  
While the rest of the large group moved to stand against the walls, the three magic users stood in a triangular shape in the center of the room. There, they had several candles lit in the center, becoming the only light left in the room. Soon, the three of them stood on their points of the triangle, respectively, and extended their arms until they were just a few inches away from the next person's hands. Slowly closing their eyes, Eiko, Garnet, and Angela began to chant the words and concentrate....  
  
"Oh great god of time and space! We call for your help! Please guide us as we re-enact a scene that we have envisioned in our hearts! Please allow it to show in our minds, oh great Chronos!"   
  
Having it repeated two more times, Eiko, Angela, and Garnet were soon surrounded by a bright light. Everyone around them quickly shielded their eyes. And soon...  
  
Several moments after, the light died down before totally disappearing. Lowering their heads, the three white magic users slowly opened their eyes, and saw the many expressions of awe on their friends' faces.   
  
"Well?" Yuffie asked, impatiently.  
"We saw it...it was..." Eiko began before she was cut short...  
  
"EVERYBODY GET OUT OF HERE NOW! THERE'S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN, JUST GET OUT!" a voice suddenly cried as a man burst into the room.  
"What...." Tidus began to ask when the man ran back out.  
"Let's find out what's going on!" Cloud cried, quickly running out the door.  
  
Soon, the large group followed and made their way towards the main entrance to the Gold Saucer. When they finally made it out, they quickly stopped before taking another step further....  
  
"What the ^&%$(*^)*^% hell?!" Cid exclaimed, looking at the sight before them.  
"What's going on?!" Tifa cried, watching as everyone that was within the Gold Saucer hurriedly made their way past them.  
  
"IT'S THE LIFESTREAM! IT'S GONE HAYWIRE!" a woman screamed, pushing past the group.  
  
Watching in shock, the group witnessed that it was indeed the Lifestream. Not only was it above the surface and flowing, but it was taking several people! The people that fell into the Lifestream screamed in agony and something...strange.. was happening....  
  
"The hell is the damn Lifestream doing?!" Barret demanded, not believing his eyes.  
"It's...taking the people's...spirits..." Freya whispered, watching as transparent reflections of the people were being sucked into the lifestream.  
  
"Why is this happening?!" Selphie cried, becoming anxious.  
"Look, it's leaving the bodies but taking the spirits!" Vivi exclaimed, pointing at several bodies that lay on the ground.  
"Look, I really don't want to be like one of them so let's get out of here!" Zell hid behind Quistis.  
  
"Hmm...it food?" Quina asked, moving towards the Lifestream.  
"NO, QUINA! THAT'S NOT FOOD! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Zidane exclaimed, running after the hungry Qu.  
  
Pulling Quina back, Zidane ran back to the group. Watching in horror as the Lifestream took everything in its path, destroying and taking spirits, the group could not just stay there....  
  
"Alright! Let's take the Highwind and get the !$^%#%! hell outta' here!" Cid commanded, quickly running towards the hangar.  
  
Everyone in agreement, quickly followed the pilot to the awaiting airship. When everyone was onboard, the pilot quickly took off...and not a moment too soon. For if they waited a few seconds more, the Lifestream would have destroyed the Highwind! As they started to get farther away....  
  
"This is all your fault! If you had not told the queen to come, she would be at home, resting safely!" Steiner exclaimed, hopping mad.  
"Oh, let's not start that again... Take it easy, Rusty. Besides, what woulda' happened if she wasn't there? We wouldn't have been able to use that spell." Zidane sighed.   
"He's right, Steiner. Please, everything is okay now." Garnet pleaded with the heavy knight.  
"You're right as usual, my Queen." Steiner gave up.  
"Hey, what.." Zidane began.  
"Just drop it....please..." Irvine begged, not wanting to hear them anymore.  
  
"Well..looks like we have more things to figure out..." Seifer sighed.  
"Oh, and we still didn't tell everyone about the vision! Now we can tell you what we saw!" Eiko jumped up and down.  
  
When suddenly, Cid's voice came on the intercom...  
  
"Uh, guys..don't wanna' worry you, but we got a &%$#! up problem!"   
  
"We go!" Kimahri cried, quickly rising from his seat.  
  
And soon, the group followed the huge animal to the deck....  
  
To be continued..... 


	15. What are you doing here!

Chapter 15: The Villains Revealed....  
  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters...I do own Angela, however....  
  
*NOTE* Hey everybody! I am so happy to see my story being read! Wow! This is so...touching..*sniffle* well, thanks everyone! I hope you guys will keep reading! And don't worry, Splitz...I forgive ya! ^_^ I should be worrying if people tell me not to continue. *laughs* well, thanks for the encouragement! Thanks everybody! That being said, please enjoy another chapter! Don't forget to R&R!   
And yes, please!! Please read my good buddy, LancerDragoon's prequel to this story...it's called "Connection of Emotion". It will give you a look at all of the events before my story actually takes place. Really cute story! (And while you're at it, could you R&R some of my other fics? Pretty please?)  
  
*Note Extra: Ah! I'm so sorry everyone! I know, I haven't posted for the longest time! It's just that with school and everything, it takes up most of my time. And just recently I had another bad case of the dreaded writer's block! But I'm okay now! I'm back in my groove! And don't worry, I'll do my best to finish this story! I'm just really glad that so many people like it and keep reading it! So, please just bear with me and my slow posts...Sorry again! Thanks for being patient with me. ^_^  
  
Story time......  
  
"Ah, so the group's all here! Good!" a voice exclaimed, as the large group made its way to the Highwind's deck.  
"Kuja! What the hell are you doin' here?!" Zidane exclaimed, getting into a fighting stance.  
"I take it that's your ultimate "evil-doer" from where you come from?" Zell shrugged, looking at Steiner next to him.  
  
Amused by everyone's confused expressions, Kuja pushed back some of his silky moonlight-silver hair, chuckling quite contently. "I should be asking you the same...oh wait...I already know why! Ha!"  
  
"We thought you were dead!" Freya huffed, not very amused by Kuja's joke.  
"Did you have anything to do with these portals?!" Angela spoke up.  
  
"Oh, more than you could believe! I was just hanging around to see how our plan was working out..." the floating humanoid laughed, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"What do you mean, 'our plan?' " a very confused Cloud demanded, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Exactly what he meant...Our plan!" another voice cackled.  
  
Suddenly, more figures started to appear. One by one, Ultimecia, Seymour, and Sephiroth revealed themselves, laughing as much as Kuja was. The sight before the group was well more than they could handle. Everyone's eyes grew wide with extreme shock. How was it possible to have foes, that were defeated by their hands so long ago, be standing before them very much alive and well? It just was not possible....  
  
"What is going on here?!" Selphie exclaimed, hiding behind Irvine.  
  
"We'll tell you exactly what is going on..." Seymour smirked.  
  
"Our souls, not able to rest, were stuck in limbo between worlds. Our desire for revenge was so great that we could not die just yet. So, we all joined forces and this wonderful little gem of a plan derived from our very intelligent, and devious minds." a chuckling Sephiroth explained.  
  
The leader of SeeD, Squall Leonhart, doing his best to keep his composure, stepped forward. He was not of this world and wanted to know what was happening. "So, why this world? What is there to be gained?"  
  
A very smug Ultimecia neared the large group of heroes and made a large smirk. Extending a slender finger at the young SeeD leader, the sorceress then changed the smirk to a teasing smile. "All that we can say is that we need a great quantity of energy. With it, we have a sure way of defeating you..."  
  
"Says you! Come on! Let's fight!" Zell exclaimed, getting into a fighting stance.  
"Don't be foolish..." Auron held the young man back.  
  
"Well, we can't just sit back and do nothing!"  
  
Suddenly, the tiny summoner known as Eiko jumped forward and produced a magical flute. With it, she summoned Ifrit and had the large beast attack. The fiery monster was soon surrounded in flames and began to charge at the small but powerful group of the evil-minded.   
  
However, as Ifrit was about to commence the attack, a large blast of energy stopped it in its path and disappeared. Eiko, in disbelief, held an expression of shock on her face as she stared at the now empty spot where Ifrit once stood. Garnet quickly made her way to the young summoner's side and held her in a comforting hug.  
  
"Is this how you get your kicks now?! By making little girls cry?" a very angry Cid Highwind exclaimed.  
  
"Well, if none of you can handle something like this, then there really is not any hope for you at all, is there?" Kuja smirked, slowly disappearing.  
  
"Hey, where you goin'?!" a very much angered Barret exclaimed.  
  
"No time to waste here...We will see you all later." Seymour smiled evily as he too began to disappear.  
  
"That's right. We have much to do before we meet again. Until then, don't get yourselves killed." Ultimecia cackled, also no longer in sight.  
  
"Sephiroth! What is going on?!" Cloud cried.  
  
"Hmph...just wait and see..." and with that, Sephiroth was gone.  
  
Suddenly, the group began to notice that the Lifestream was still moving and destroying everything below them. What was even more shocking was that the stream itself was no longer a calming soft green. It looked more dark and cloudy, as if it was poison. Whatever was in it, was making the stream only take the souls of everything in its path and not redistributing it to another life form like it always has.   
  
"Well, we can't go back the Golden Saucer now...it's been totally annihilated. Where can we go now?" Cait Sith looked from the spot where the Golden Saucer used to be back to the group.  
  
"Isn't there any place we can go to?" asked a still calm Amarant.  
  
"Let's go back to Midgar. There's no one there now. And we'll be safe there...for now..." Cloud said aloud.  
"Are you sure, Cloud? Isn't it still badly damaged from Meteor?" Tifa asked, now next to him.  
"It's the best place right now, Tifa. It's far enough from the stream and we can plan our next move without having to worry about other people."  
"But..."  
  
Making a quick nod to the pilot, Cid directed him to the direction of Midgar. The now empty city where many things happened, so long ago.   
Tifa did not really want to go back there, it had too many painful memories to her that were still fresh in her mind. But it was the leader's decision and she had to abide by it. Especially since that leader was Cloud Strife.   
  
"At least we'll be far away from that 'Deathstream'...." Tidus commented as the Highwind began to move.  
  
Now that their opponents have been revealed, will the heroes be able to come up with a way to destroy them for good? Will they be able to revert the 'Deathstream' back to the Lifestream? And what awaits them in Midgar? Find out in the next chapter....  
  
To be continued............ 


	16. Old friends? errenemies? oh boy

Chapter 16: Where have you been?!  
  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters...I do own Angela, however...  
  
*NOTE* well well, looks like another slow post from me. Hee hee.... now then, it looks like this story is going very well and I'm very happy! ^_^ oh, and there's a special treat to come for author Fenice Evangelista who's been waiting ever so patiently. Don't worry, I didn't forget about your request. ^_~* hope everyone likes it!  
  
In almost no time at all, the Highwind had crossed over to the Midgar area. Just like many of the group expected, it was nearly destroyed. Some parts of the industrial city had remained intact, but most parts were nearly gone.   
  
"Cloud! Look! There's a part of Sector 7 that looks like it was never hit!" exclaimed a shocked Tifa.  
  
Tidus, obviously having never visited Midgar before, tapped Cloud's shoulder. "Um...you mind telling me what happened here?"  
  
Not turning away from the view of the once magnificent city, Cloud began to speak.   
  
"It was during our final battle with Sephiroth...  
  
We had to find the Black Materia. To do that, we had to go to this place called the Temple of the Ancients. We succeeded in claiming the materia, but Sephiroth caught up to us. He stole the materia and used it to summon Meteor. Using meteor, Sephiroth wanted to destroy the world.   
  
We became desperate...we couldn't let him do such a thing. The meteor spell was then cast and we had a very limited amount of time to think of something to stop it."   
  
When Cloud could not speak anymore, Tifa took the initiative to speak for him.  
  
"And that's when Aeris, who's no longer with us, decided to use her special White Materia to counter it. With it, she wished for Meteor to be stopped. But she paid for it with her life, thanks to Sephiroth."  
  
Barret also added to it. "Yeah, so after beatin' the crap outta' that jackass, Meteor was gettin' too close for comfort, ya' know? But finally Holy, the power from the White Materia, finally showed up and came at Meteor. Bad part was it didn't do nothin'! It made the damn Meteor stronger and it kept eatin' at the city!"  
  
And finally, Red XIII decided to finish it. "Meteor destroys, bit by bit until there is nothing left. We thought all we did was for naught and that this was the end, but an unsuspected turn of events occurred. The Lifestream rose up and tore apart the Meteor, destroying it just in time..."  
  
Looking back into the direction from where they came, Rinoa shook her head. "Now instead of helping it's destroying."  
  
"Well, let's just land and get into a safe place so we can think better. There's not much we can do up here." Auron spoke up.  
  
After some time hovering over Migar, the Highwind was landed just a few feet away. As the group of heroes descended down the platform onto the ground, they noticed the church where they first met Aeris was still standing and was only a few feet away. The group began to make their way towards it when suddenly....  
  
"Hold it right there! Where do you guys think you're going?!" a voice stopped them suddenly.  
  
"What? Who's there?! Hey, I thought you guys said there wouldn't be anyone here!" Zell exclaimed, just as startled as the rest of the group.  
  
Everyone immediately took out their weapons and readied themselves for some type of attack.   
  
"Heh...My thoughts exactly... Shall we go for round three?"  
  
"....."  
  
"We'll get rid of you once and for all and I'll finally be able to avenge Tseng!"  
  
"The Turks?! What are you guys doing here?!" Yuffie exclaimed.  
  
"We should be asking you the same thing."  
  
One by one, the Turks which now only consisted of 3 people, the remnants of what was Shinra, stepped out of the shadows and into the bright light. Cloud and his team stared down at Reno, Rude, and Elena as they appeared in front of them. Other than Cloud and his friends, no one else knew who these mysterious people were and displayed very confused expressions on their faces.  
  
"Do you know each other?" Quistis finally decided to speak up.  
  
"Unfortunately..." Barrett muttered.  
  
"To make a #%*@! story short, after all the rotten things they did to people and to us, we hated each others' guts." Cid gritted his teeth.  
  
Shrugging his shoulders, Zell completely understood. "Sounds logical."  
  
"Who are these guys?" Reno asked, placing his hands on his hips.  
"Who you?" Kimahri stepped in front of Yuna.  
"How about you answer me first?"  
"No trust you."  
  
"Look, this is pointless so just get out of our way so we can try to do something about Kuja, Sephiroth, Ultimecia, and Seymour!" Zidane ran out of patience.  
  
"Sephiroth? How do you know...." Elena began.  
  
"........" Rude lowered his head.  
  
"... See you've met up with that bastard. We've been hunting for him ever since we saw him a few weeks ago." Reno nodded.  
  
"Do you know what's going on?" Auron spoke up.  
  
"Not really... We've been trying to figure out what he was up to when we saw him back at the Shinra mansion in Nibelheim. But before we could question him, he disappeared." Reno explained.  
"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you are here in Midgar." Vincent interrupted.  
"I was just getting to that...."  
"So then..."  
  
"We figured that our next best bet was to come here to Midgar and see if he came here. But we haven't seen any clues on where he might be." Elena finished for her fellow Turk.  
  
"But do you think that Sephiroth also has something to do with the Lifestream?" Tifa thought aloud.  
  
"What about the Lifestream?" Reno sounded confused.  
  
"It started to come up and taking people's souls away! You guys didn't see it?!" a very energetic Eiko exclaimed.  
  
"How can that be possible? Something very wrong is going on..." Elena's eyes grew wide.  
  
"So, now we're chasing after them to ask questions and find out what's going on." Squall spoke as the group began to finally make their way into the church.  
  
When they finally sat down....  
  
"Exactly how did these other people end up here? Was that also the cause of Sephiroth and his new pals?" Reno looked from Cloud to the new additions.  
  
"We think so but that's also another thing we want to ask when we finally do catch up to them." Rikku replied.  
  
"Hey, if these guys join us, we got a better chance. If they know about Sephiroth then we can get him quicker." Tidus exclaimed happily.  
  
Everyone in the church just looked at him with very confused looks. Did Tidus really know what he was talking about? Or did he not see the hostility between Cloud and his group with the Turks? Barrett could not believe his ears....  
  
"Are you friggin' stupid?! They're a bunch a back-stabbers! I don't want no back-stabbers on the team." the large man crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"Look who's talking." Reno muttered.  
  
"I don't know about anyone else but I think I kind of agree with Tidus. We do need all the help we can get." a cheerful Selphie spoke up.  
  
"Selphie..." Irvine whispered.  
  
"Yeah, just for now, let's just join with them. We obviously have the same idea to get rid of Sephiroth and our other adversaries once and for all." Angela agreed.   
  
"I guess..." Cloud looked to the Turks, not really sure.  
  
"So is it agreed then?" Quistis looked to the leaders of the various groups.  
  
Looking from one to another, Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Tidus, and Reno all nodded. The now one extremely large group cheered, except for some of the more quiet members. They soon began to form a plan.  
  
As our group of heroes obtain more and more members, does it look like they have a better chance of winning against the team of evil-doers? Now that they have gained the aid of the Turks, will it work? Or will they end up killing each other first?  
  
"I can't believe it's come to this..." Cid Highwind sighed.  
  
"Yeah, well it ain't no fun joining you guys either." Reno snarled.  
  
Right now it does not seem that way, but will something come out of this alliance? We'll have to hope so... So just hang on tight for the next chapter! Bye now!  
  
To be continued..... 


	17. Now we're getting somewhere! Right?

Chapter 17: Let's Work Together!   
  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters...I do own Angela, however...  
  
*NOTE* Hey, readers! I'd just like to say that I think I'm finally getting on with the story! Sorry it took so long, but now I think I can finally finish it. But hold on, this isn't the last chapter! No sir! I still got a few ideas up my sleeves. So sit tight and I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to R&R! Thanks!  
  
After hearing the explanations all that has happened thus far, from each group's point of view minus the Turks, it was Reno's turn to explain what the Turks had been doing all of this time. Everyone else sat down on what used to be chairs and looked up at the leader of the Turks.  
  
"Like we said before, we saw Sephiroth in the Shinra mansion looking through some of those old notes that were left by the scientists. The creepy thing was that when he was looking through the books, he had too smug a smile on his rotten face. It made me want to puke." Reno began.  
  
"Did you get to see what he was reading about?" Rinoa looked up at the Turks's leader.  
  
"Actually, I did. Reno and Rude went to follow Sephiroth while I stayed in the mansion looking through all that Sephiroth had seen. Then after I got a good idea and made copies of everything with my spy camera, I joined up with them in Midgar." Elena proudly stated.  
  
"Speaking of that... Let me see the pictures..." Reno held out his hand.  
  
Immediately obeying her leader, Elena went deep into her coat and pulled out a small envelope and handed it to him. Reno then opened it and took out the said pictures. After some time of looking them over, Reno placed a hand to his head and looked quite confused...  
  
"What's wrong?" Lulu asked.  
  
"Yes, speak." Steiner added, quite impatiently.  
  
Looking up to the large group that stood before him, Reno's eyes suddenly became wide with what seemed to be shock. "I have no idea what the hell I'm reading. Look for yourselves..."  
  
As the young man held out of the pictures, each person of the group examined them as closely as they could. The pictures were clear as crystal, not at all blurry, nor were the words on them illegible....  
  
"What is that? Is that even english? Are those even words?" Rikku scrunched her nose.  
  
"It doesn't look it to me." Vivi shyly spoke up.  
  
"Great, now what are we supposed to do?" Seifer crossed his arms.  
  
"Wait a second...Hey, Garnet, you know how to read different languages... Wanna' take a look?" Zidane turned to face her.  
  
"I guess I can give it a shot." the young queen took a picture.  
  
"By the looks of it, it could be an ancient form of writing..." Quistis also examined one.  
  
"You spend a lot of time in the library at the Garden, don't you?" Zell looked at her.  
  
"Well, at least I don't go there just to flirt with the librarian at the front desk." she smirked.  
  
"Hey!...This is not the time nor the place for that!" Zell huffed.  
  
This made some of the group members laugh and chuckle, some just rolled their eyes...  
  
"Understand?" Kimahri looked at Garnet.  
  
"It recipe?" Quina asked, excitedly.  
  
"Not everything is a recipe, Quina." Freya chuckled.  
  
"Is that all s/he ever thinks about?" Seifer looked at the Qu nervously.  
  
"Can you read it?" Cloud ignored the rest of the group.  
  
"I think so... I don't remember exactly what language or what civilization it's from but it's definitely a language written in the history books." Garnet looked over the documents once more.  
  
"Do you think you can decipher it?" Vincent spoke.  
  
"Let's see....oh my...." Garnet began.  
  
"What? Something wrong?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"Yeah, what does it say?" Zidane peered over the Queen's shoulder.  
  
"These are notes about the Lifestream and the Space-Time Continuum!" Garnet exclaimed.  
  
"What? Are you sure?" Freya looked at the young woman.  
  
"What does it say?" Squall stepped forward.  
  
"It says '...Experiments continue and we are almost there. As we try to link the Space-Time Continuum to the Lifestream, we keep finding more and more clues...' The next paper is a few days later...'When there is a tear in the Space-Time Continuum, it is in fact true that the Lifestream glows a deep green. With the sense-data that our computers pick up we can find the tears and conclude that the color change and the tear occur at the same time. Could the key be...the... ..materia... we have obtained...from..." Garnet read aloud.  
  
"What happened? Why did you stop? My pictures are perfect, tell me you can't read it..." Elena frowned.  
  
"No, it's not that. The original print has been smudged. I can't read the last part..." Garnet replied, sadly.  
  
"Just when we were getting it!" Zell whined.  
  
Reno, still holding onto the rest of the documents, walked over to Garnet and handed them to her. "Maybe there's something in the rest of them? Take a look."  
  
Gingerly taking the pictures from the Turk leader, Garnet began to look over them. After some time, she looked back up at the group and shook her head.  
  
"Um, can I ask a question? What's a materia?" asked a somewhat confused Angela.  
  
"It's a colored orb filled with magical power. It's formed from a substance called mako that nature creates. When left alone, it will condense into its materia form. You can tell what kind of magic it has just by looking at the color. But there are many different kinds and some are more stronger than others." Cloud explained.  
  
"So, whatever kind this materia that was used, it must have been extremely strong, right?" Seifer confirmed.  
  
"Figures this jack-ass would use a materia to do something like that..." Barrett huffed.  
  
"But I'm still confused.... What does the materia have to do with any of this? And why were the notes in a different language?" questioned a somewhat confused Yuna.  
  
"Well, they're definitely a scientist's notes. There is no doubt about that. But much of the research from the past has always dealt with materia. But this type of research has not been seen since the time of the flourishment of the Cetra civilization." Vincent noted.  
  
"So you mean these could be clues about not only this stuff but the Cetra as well?" Eiko asked, excitedly.  
  
"Could be.... But if there was only some way to connect all of this together." Irvine thought aloud.  
  
"Yes, and besides...this even looks like the writing system of the Cetra." Garnet confirmed.  
  
"Well, let's rest on it. It's late and we're tired. Let's rest here for the night and we'll see what happens in the morning." Squall suggested.  
  
Everyone then agreed and each person found a spot to sleep. After some time, everyone had fallen into a deep sleep...that is...except for Cloud...  
  
"Cloud, I've found you!" a voice cried.  
  
Cloud quickly turned around to the source of the sound. He did not see anything....but the voice sounded strangely familiar. Who was it? And why was it calling out to him?  
  
'This is just like that dream... Except that it sounds much closer...' Cloud reminded himself.  
  
But why was Cloud the only one to hear the voice? Could not anyone else hear it? Was he back in his dream....is it a dream?  
  
To be continued..... 


	18. Let's make a plan!

Chapter 18: Time for some answers....   
  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters...I do own Angela, however...  
  
Miko: Hey everybody! Suzaku no miko here with the next chapter. Wow, thanks to Regrem Erutaerc a point was well made (in a nice and well-mannered way too, thanks! ^_^)! Had it not been for you readers, a whole good part to the story would have been forgotten and I would have never realized it! Again, I thank you with a lot of gratitude! And thanks for the suggestion, I think it'll work just nicely. Now then, let's get on with the story! Please R&R!  
  
'Again, I'm in this total darkness.... And where did everybody go?' Cloud thought to himself.  
  
No matter which direction Cloud turned, there would be nothing but absolute darkness. It was as if nothing else existed....The world...his friends... Possibly the thought that bothered him the most was why he was the only one around.   
  
'As far as I'm concerned, we were all together in the church. Where did everybody go?' this was all Cloud could ask himself as he tried to walk around.  
  
What if this was just some kind of trick and he had to find the answer to some type of riddle? Was it Sephiroth and his mind games again? Or was Cloud really lost and could never get back home? Whatever it was, Cloud wanted answers....  
  
"Cloud, where are you going?" the voice called out to him again.  
  
"Who are you? Where am I?" Cloud demanded.  
  
It was obvious that he was in no mood for guessing games. Not only that, Cloud began to feel uneasy about the whole thing....  
  
"Hee hee.... You're still just as I remember you, Cloud Strife..." the voice giggled.  
  
The voice again...only, more clearer...recognizeable...   
  
"How do you know me? And why don't you show yourself?" Cloud asked again.  
  
"Fine. I've teased you enough. Although, I think you should have recognized my voice already..." the voice replied.  
  
No sooner had the voice finished speaking, Cloud noticed a figure began materialize in front of him. But at the same time, something strange was happening. As the shadow neared him, the young man watched as a very small group of tiny sparkling lights began to appear near the bottom of the shadow. He watched as the lights grew into a very familiar glow. Cloud was then able to see the feet of the shadow!   
  
"Boots?" Cloud wondered aloud.  
  
"Do you remember me yet?" the voice questioned.  
  
The light continued to grow, at the same time revealing more of who the shadow really was. He soon began to see very feminine legs, followed by what seemed to be a dress. A pale pink dress, to be exact.   
  
'Could it be?' Cloud began to realize, his sapphire-blue eyes becoming large.  
  
Soon, Cloud was able to see the rest of the dress as the light continued to become brighter. He began to see long, delicate arms held at either side of the person's curvy figure. A short dark, maroon jacket that covered the top of the dress soon began to appear as the light revealed more of the body. The blonde-haired man then noticed that this person had extremely long chestnut-brown hair tied back into a braid that just made it past her waist.   
  
Cloud could almost feel his breath escape him as he watched the light finally unveil who the mystery-person was. Nearly taken by surprise as a pair of bright emerald-green eyes met his blue ones, Cloud made a quick, short gasp.   
  
"Aeris!"   
  
"It's been a long time, Cloud." the young woman greeted him with a smile.  
  
"It's really you! But you were....Sephiroth...he..." Cloud began to stutter.  
  
He could not believe the vision before him. But well enough, Aeris Gainsborough, the last of the Cetra..... the one who died by Sephiroth's hands... was standing in front of him. But how could this be? Aeris *was* dead... Cloud and his friends watched her die...  
  
"As usual, I see you're overwhelmed and you can't form the questions that are running through your head. How about if I start to explain?" Aeris suggested.  
  
The young woman could tell that Cloud was struggling with himself. Cloud had never wanted to believe that Aeris was dead. But another part of him wanted to let her rest in peace. How he could have both at the same time troubled him greatly. Hopefully, Aeris could set his mind and heart at ease...  
  
"Actually, what I'm about to tell you is kind of complicated. As of now, I'm neither dead nor alive." Aeris began.  
  
"Neither...? But how?" Cloud pressed on further.  
  
"Because of what happened and because of how much I cared for all of you, I could not rest. I felt there was still something that I had to do. I guess the feelings foreshadowed the dire plans of Sephiroth. I also could not return to the planet. I was stuck here spiritually, unable to move. So I waited. I knew this day would come."   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"Because of my current state, I was able to obtain information of Sephiroth and his plans. But the effect of the Lifestream and the portals were not entirely part of the plans. I took the opportunity to fix the plan a bit to benefit myself by getting you together with the others that came through the portals to this world. Of course, it wasn't really easy... there were some adjustments I had to make to get as much help as I could..." continued a more serious Aeris.  
  
"You were part of this?! But what did you do to the Lifestream?" Cloud could not believe what he was hearing.  
  
Aeris then looked to the floor. "Actually, the Lifestream, I guess you could say is poisoned as a result of what Sephiroth and the others have done. They used the link between the Lifestream and the portals to try to travel between the worlds. They were restless souls who wanted revenge. They must have figured that this was a good way of getting what they want in one shot."  
  
"So that's why you brought all these other people together? So what happened that everybody ended up in this world?" Cloud inquired.  
  
"That's also something I adjusted. I realized what was happening and used whatever powers I had so that everyone could end up in one place. This way, I figured, would be easy for the rest of you. But it was quite hard getting a couple of members... You see, Cloud, two people were not even of the living world...."  
  
Elsewhere, a young woman with short brown hair began to stir. She slowly sat up, looking around her. The young summoner, known as Yuna, slowly rubbed her eyes until they focused on a sleeping Tidus next to her. Across from the both of them, she noticed that Auron was sleeping soundly against a wall.  
  
'I still can't believe how everything worked out...' Yuna thought to herself.  
  
*YUNA'S FLASHBACK*   
  
"I still can't believe it's finally over." Lulu sighed.  
  
Two days after the world was saved from Yu Yevon, Yuna and the rest of the group were able to finally rest. However, even during this happy time, the young summoner could not get over the fact that Tidus nor Auron were no longer with them. To think that Auron and Tidus were nothing more than just figures from a dream of the Fayths, was very hard on Yuna. She did her best to smile around her friends...Rikku, Lulu, Kimahri, and Wakka... But they knew better and could tell Yuna was forcing herself to be happy.  
  
"Hey, Yuna. Why don't you get some fresh air?" Rikku suggested.  
  
"Yeah, it'll do ya' good." Wakka smiled.  
  
"Come, we go." Kimahri directed Yuna to the door.  
  
Yuna could understand that her friends were doing their best to help her become happy. Maybe she did need to get out and take a breath of fresh air. Anything would help her now...  
  
The young woman allowed herself to be pulled by her guardian to the front door as she nodded to the rest of the group. "You're all right. I'll be back soon, okay?"  
  
"Ah, take your time. We'll still be here." Wakka chuckled.  
  
And with that, Yuna and Kimahri walked out of the building. The two began their short, silent trek to the beach area. If there was one thing that calmed her, it was the sound of the water. Except, unfortunately for Yuna, the water also reminded her about Tidus....  
  
When they arrived at the shore, Yuna looked out into the water. She slowly closed her eyes and allowed herself to feel as though she would be consumed by the ocean. She could hear nothing but the crashing of the waves against the shore. How she longed for the ocean to swallow her and bring her back to the time when Tidus first kissed her. To feel the warmth of his body once more... To have his strong arms wrap around her as he brought her closer to press his firm lips against hers...  
  
Kimahri remained silent and stood by her side. He watched her sadly, wishing there was something he could do. However, he made no attempt to do anything. Instead, he just watched over her and granted her the chance to do her best in helping herself. Taking a deep breath of air, the tall guardian slowly closed his eyes and breathed out again. When he turned to look at Yuna once more, he found something very odd....  
  
"Gone?" Kimahri questioned.  
  
The beast began to quickly look around, searching for any sign of Yuna. His eyes only left her for a second. How could she move so quickly in such a short time?  
  
"Kimahri! Come quickly!" it was Yuna.  
  
Quickly turning to the source of the cry, Kimahri made his way to a cove by the water, not too far from where they were standing. When he arrived, he made a very shocking revelation...  
  
"It's Tidus and Auron! They're alive! They're really here!" the young summoner exclaimed happily.  
  
Kimahri nodded, also smiling, as he kneeled beside her.   
  
Could dreams really be wishes? And could these wishes be granted? To Yuna, it seemed that way...  
  
*END OF YUNA'S FLASHBACK*  
  
"Was it our love that was able to overcome everything.... and the friendship that we had with everyone? Or was it the will of the Fayths that brought us back together? Whatever the reason, I'm glad that we're all back together again." Yuna whispered to herself.  
  
Back to the place where Cloud and Aeris were, there still a great need for much more explaining...  
  
"What? They were part of a dream? So, how were they able to come to the living world?" Cloud asked.  
  
"For a certain amount of time, I was able to call on the powers of the White Materia. With it, I was able to use the "Reocurrence Spell" and see each of the incidents from each group's worlds. I was then able to help the two known as Tidus and Auron to be reborn. They were also restless souls." Aeris answered.  
  
"But wait a minute, you just finished telling me that they were part of a dream."  
  
"Yes, but then the Fayths were going to allow them to be in the world of the living. They saw that even characters of a dream can have sincere feelings. The Fayths witnessed how much love Tidus and Yuna shared not only for each other, but for their friends as well. But the plans of Sephiroth, Ultimecia, Kuja, and Seymour disrupted the whole process. Like me, they then became immobilized and could not move between the dream world and the living world. I knew this was going to be a hard task on everyone so I helped it along with the power I had at the time."  
  
"So then what?"  
  
"I want to continue helping all of you. I want to help stop Sephiroth and the others once and for all. But first, I need you to get the White Materia and bring it back to me. It was only for a certain time when I could use the materia but bringing it here to me, where my spirit resides, a lot more could be done. Will you do it, Cloud?"  
  
Giving the young man a pleading look, Aeris clasped her hands over one another. She had the same sweet look that Cloud could never resist. And now with everything that was going on and her being so close, he could not stop now...  
  
"Yes. I will." Cloud replied, without giving it a second thought.  
  
"Thank you. It's still in the City of the Ancients. Please find it and bring it back to me." Aeris made a sigh of relief.  
  
Nodding in understanding his mission, Cloud smiled. Aeris looked back at him, also smiling. But soon, everything, including Aeris began to slowly disappear. Cloud looked around him until he saw nothing but complete darkness...  
  
Cloud then tried to open his eyes. "Wha...? I'm back in the church. Was that really just a dream? Hmm... I don't think so."  
  
As quietly as he could, Cloud rose from the floor and began to make his way out of the church. Taking one quick glance back at the group that was still sleeping soundly, he smiled. Taking a breath, he gathered the courage and turned to walk out of the door.  
  
Much time later, the sun began to shine through the cracked windows and shined on the sleeping faces of the group still in the church. Everyone soon began to wake up, yawning as they stretched. Until there was a sudden gasp...  
  
"What's wrong, Tifa?" Angela noticed the young woman's shocked expression.  
  
Tifa just held her hands over her mouth as she looked at the spot where Cloud once lay. "Where's Cloud?!"  
  
To be continued...... 


	19. We're almost there

Chapter 19: We Have to Go On!   
  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters...I do own Angela, however...  
  
Miko: Hey there readers! I still can't believe that this story got to be this big with so many chapters! Anyhoo, I'm glad I decided to put it up on FF.net Well, that's enough blabbing from me, how about we get started with this chapter, ne? Please R&R!  
  
"What does that spikey-ass think he's doin'?" Barrett wondered aloud.  
  
"How could he leave us at a time like this?! Don't he know that Ultimecia and her new pals could attack us at any minute?!" Zell exclaimed.  
  
A calm reply by the fire-cat somehow put a cease to Zell's complaining. "We must not let our emotions get out of control, there must be some reason for Cloud leaving... He would not go off on his own if whatever he had to do was not important."  
  
However, what helped Zell relax a bit, the comment of Red XIII agitated Steiner and Zidane even more. These two were especially strong believers in team work. Especially when there were people that needed protecting...  
  
"But such reckless behavior can just as well not have good consequences! What if something were to happen to him? Or the rest of us?" Steiner said, in a stern tone.  
  
"I don't know about going to that extreme, Rusty. But it is true that something could happen to him. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just one bad guy we had to worry about, but we got about four on our hands." Zidane said, in a more calm tone. Not completely calm, but he was less vocal about what he felt than Steiner was.  
  
"Oh, Cloud..." Tifa sobbed.  
  
"Wait a second. You guys are acting as if he died! Now, we've only known each other for a couple of days but somehow I know that Cloud couldn't die that easily! He just couldn't! And we are all just as strong as he is! We just have to believe in him and wait for him to come back! Maybe he had an important task that he had to do on his own and he'll come back soon." Selphie spoke up.  
  
"Selphie's right! If you guys believed in him as a leader, then we will too! We can't give up in our current situation and we sure as heck can't give up on Cloud! Let's say we try to form some strategies against these baddies and wait for Cloud!" Angela added.  
  
"Hey, the girls are right! We got this far, right?" Tidus looked at the rest of the group.   
  
"But does anyone have any suggestions on where we should go from here?" Freya questioned.  
  
"Yeah, it's time to kick some ass!" exclaimed a more excited Zell.  
  
"Do you think that you could elaborate on how?" Amarant looked at the hyper young man.  
  
"I think I have a way...but it's not exactly the safest strategy in the world..." Yuna spoke up.  
  
* * *  
  
"We're almost at our destination, sir. Are you really sure you want to go through with this?" the pilot of the Highwind looked to Cloud.  
  
"I have no choice. I made a promise and I intend to keep it." Cloud replied, softly.  
  
Cloud was extremely hopeful and cautious as he tried to leave Midgar without awaking the others. Leaving the church was fine, but to get the crew of the flying ship, the Highwind, and to get the ship itself started was a whole different task on its own. But luckily, the crew was within the ship. What was even more fortunate was the fact that the ship itself was out of the city, therefore the rest of the group could not hear the engines start up. And soon enough, Cloud was on his way to the abondoned City of the Ancients.  
  
"We're preparing to land, sir. Please be careful and come back safely." one of the other crew members saluted Cloud.  
  
"Right. Thanks. And don't worry, I'll be fine." Cloud smiled.  
  
The Highwind then landed outside of the forest that surrounded the city. Cloud walked down the ramp of the flying vehicle and made his way over to the entrance of the forest. He noticed that the sun's rays were just now reaching this area. The darkened forest seemed to have a life of its own and became more lively as the sun began to shine brightly down on it.  
  
'It's been a long time... Let's do this..' Cloud said to himself, with a new strong sense of determination.  
  
The crew members of the Highwind watched on as the platinum-blonde haired man disappear into the forest. He was going in there alone. Several of them wondered if he would make it back out alive....  
  
Much deeper into the forest, Cloud continued his journey to find the City of the Ancients. He soon came upon an opening... it would not be much longer from then on, until he would arrive at the city. He could feel it....the materia was near...just as 'she' said.  
  
Cloud had soon located the crystalline stairs which led to the still magnificent city that once belonged to a great and ancient race...the Cetra. Feeling he could not waste a second more, he began to carefully race down the stairs, to the center of the city. When he neared the foot of the stairs, he came to a slow stop. There it was...  
  
The altar. The place where he found Aeris. Aeris was praying. Using the special White Materia, she was praying to stop the evil that threatened everyone's lives. She knew the danger of being out in the open like that but she felt that the world was more important. Her love for the world and for all the living things on it gave her the courage to do what she had done. Even knowing that 'he' would come for her. The man who killed her......Sephiroth...  
  
Remembering all that the sole survivor of the Cetra had done so that he and the whole world could go on living, Cloud's eyes began to slowly fill with tears. He sniffled, quickly pushing back his tears. 'No time for crying. I have a promise to keep. I don't want her to be sad anymore...'  
  
Wiping his eyes, Cloud started to walk again. He soon came to the edge, near the steps to the altar. Now all he had to do was to locate the much needed White Materia. Looking around in the deep water, he then saw a faint glow near one of the steps.   
  
"That must be it! I'll get it back to you in no time." Cloud said, as if he were speaking to someone...perhaps Aeris?  
  
He instantly dove into the water, keeping his eyes on the glow. Cloud continued to swim on, not taking his eyes off of his destination. He had to reach it. Even though he could not confirm that the glowing object was indeed the White Materia, something from within told him that he must go to it. It was as if his senses...no...someone..was guiding him there.  
  
'It is...It's the White Materia!' Cloud told himself, happily. Now trying even harder to reach the glow, Cloud tried to swim faster. But something did not feel right. He was only now a few feet from the materia but he was not getting any closer! He tried to look all around to see why he could not progress any further but saw nothing...that is, until he looked at his legs...  
  
* * *  
  
"Is something wrong, Seymour, dear?" a very happy Ultimecia cooed.  
  
"Ugh... If you must know, I am getting a bad feeling. As if something is going to happen." Seymour replied.  
  
"Now why would you think that? What could possibly go wrong?" Kuja smirked.  
  
"True, even with what is happening with the Lifestream and our little friends having trouble...their kind still can't be trusted..." Sephiroth stated.  
  
"What do you mean?" Ultimecia asked, now concerned.  
  
"That somehow they always get themselves out of the worst predicaments. It's disgusting. For once, I would love to see them suffer and we would be the winners." Seymour growled.  
  
"And you don't think that can happen? Why do you think I went to all the trouble of conjuring this plan? It's infallible." Kuja smiled proudly.  
  
"That's what you said about the portals. But they led us all to this world, you incompetent." Sephiroth snobbishly noted.   
  
"Well, you nonbelievers, if you rather see it to believe it, why don't we personally go visit them? And as an added bonus, we can torment them. This way, I can show you that nothing could go wrong with this plan because they won't know what hit them." Kuja stated with much confidence.  
  
"You better be right..." Seymour mumbled.  
  
And with that, they vanished...  
  
* * *  
  
"I don't know...It sounds kinda' dangerous to me." Tidus said, feeling uneasy.  
  
"Ah, don't be such a &*!#%@ baby. It looks like we're not gonna' have another choice, anyway." Cid took a puff on his cigarette.  
  
Things must have been getting bad without any of the group realizing it. They did not even know where the group of antagonists were nor did they know when they would strike. On the surface, everything was too peaceful and easy-going. Deep down in many members of the group, there was a great sense of anticipation...anxiety...anger...fear... But just as many of them felt somewhat more at peace and ready, now that they had a strategy if they should be attacked.  
  
"Now, all we have to do is wait for Cloud..." Angela announced.  
  
"Aww, isn't that too bad? Just what are you going to do?" a voice asked in a mocking voice.  
  
Everyone immediately took out their weapons and just as quickly stood in a defensive stance. Maniacal cackling could be heard as the large group of heroes searched all around the church for the owners of the voices.  
  
"It's comin' from outside!" Zell exclaimed.  
  
"This is it, everybody! Let's go!" Zidane stated.  
  
Everyone then nodded in agreement and ran out of the church. They were running to face what was their fears...their nightmares... Their lives had been ruined by these "evil masterminds" and our group of heroes want to stop the madness, once and for all...  
  
Could our heroes possibly win? Or will Sephiroth and his group destroy them first? And what exactly is this secret strategy Yuna had suggested? What will become of Cloud Strife? All of these questions will be answered in the climatic final battle between good and evil in the next chapter!   
  
Hope to see you there! Until then...  
  
To be continued.... 


	20. End

Chapter 20: We're Finally Here! Let's Do It!  
  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters, they belong to Square...I do own Angela, however...The song Hikari to Kage wo Dakishimeta Mama; Embracing the Light and Shadow is the property of CLAMP's anime Magic Knight Rayearth. The lyrics were borrowed from Animelyrics.com Therefore I do not own any of these things so please don't sue! The only thing I own is Angela, as she is my own made up character.  
  
Miko: Hey everybody! This is it! Can you believe it?! I can't! Wow...the final battle.. hee hee! I'm so happy! I just want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing! Especially those who stayed with me till the end! ^_^ I hope everyone enjoyed my fic! I also hope that I can keep writing this well in all my stories. And I thought I would give it another try to make a chapter as a songfic, I'm still trying to get the hang of it. Plus using Magic Knight Rayearth's 2nd opening, I thought, would be perfect for the ultimate attack. So, please let me know what you readers think, okies?! And I must apologize for taking so long with this final chapter, please forgive me. Now then...On with the final battle! Please R&R!  
  
"Ah, just the people we wanted to see..." Ultimecia greeted the group as they rushed outside.  
  
"Look, we destroyed each of you once before and we can always do it again." Zidane yelled back.  
  
This made Kuja laugh, throwing his head back, not able to believe that Zidane nor the rest of this large group had enough power to stop his plan. Having acquired the help of Sephiroth, Ultimecia, and Seymour, Kuja felt invincible. Not fazed by the confidence that Zidane always had, he did not even think for one moment these heroes could defeat them now. He was sure of it...  
  
"Yeah, we got a plan that's gonna' dish out some serious ass-whoopin'!" Zell exclaimed.  
  
Yuna looked at the hyper young man next to her, beginning to feel unsure of this plan. Was what she suggested really a good tactic? Unfortunately for her, there was only one way to find out and that was to actually use it. But to the rest of the group, it would not really be a serious issue. They have all been in near-death experiences and knew that sometimes their best option would be that type of plan.   
  
It was time to get rid of these foes once and for all. And this was it...it was time...  
  
"Oh, really? Well, it just so happens that we are in the final stage of our own plan. And you lucky ones are going to be the first ones to witness it!" Kuja announced.  
  
At that moment, Sephiroth revealed a mysterious object that he had pulled out from his trenchcoat. Could it be...  
  
"That's a summoning materia! What are you planning to do with it?!" Yuffie yelled, immediately recognizing it with her keen ninja vision.  
  
"Very good, little one. This is the Bahamut materia. With just the words of an incantation, we can summon the strongest of the summoning beasts and ensure your deaths." Ultimecia explained.  
  
"But we have plenty of our own spells to handle Bahamut. We've dealt with him before." Rikku responded.  
  
"But this is a special case. One that we know you have no defenses against." Seymour smiled evily.  
  
No sooner had Seymour finished speaking, the materia began to glow a deep blood-red. They had already begun to summon the dragon, Bahamut! In almost no time at all, the dragon was released. The massive-sized dragon began to materialize above everyone, flapping its large wings that could cause tornados and destroy nearly everything with strong winds. Making a great roar, the dragon was ready to obey the commands of those who summoned it.  
  
"Now you will see our true powers as we fuse with Bahamut, creating the Supreme Darkness Dragon." Kuja began to laugh.   
  
"Oh crap...he's using the powers of Ultimecia to combine themselves with Bahamut!" Irvine exclaimed.  
  
The group soon found themselves witnessing the event that could mean certain doom for them. Would they be able to stop it? It looked like their chances were not so high as they watched the dragon itself grow larger and sprout more heads...more like some sort of Hydra.   
  
"If we're going to beat this thing, let's start already!" Angela cried.  
  
Everyone around her nodded in agreement. Forming a circle at the center of the group, all of the white mages, including Rinoa, Angela, Garnet, Eiko, and Yuna gathered together. The rest of the group would be their protectors as they would begin to cast the 'Final Summoning'. But as the group of magic users were beginning to form their attack, the rest of the group noticed that this Supreme Darkness Dragon was not going to wait.   
  
"We can't let the dragon hurt them! We have to protect them!" Freya suddenly cried.  
  
All agreeing that this would be the dragon's first goal, the rest of the group realized that they could not let this happen. Weapons in hand, the rest of the group surrounded the magic users, determined to protect them and let them summon.  
  
"We have to protect them with everything we have! Nobody better screw up!" Zell cried.  
  
Suddenly, at the center of the circle, a strong wind began to pick up. The young women had their eyes closed and soon a soft melody could be heard in the distance. Was it the power of the spell or was it the song in everyone's hearts to give them the strength to defeat their opponent? At this point, it did not matter where the song was coming from. What did matter was now that they were able to finally use this spell in hopes that it would work and save everyone.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
mune no oku de furuete'ru  
  
hikari to kage wo dakishimeta mama  
  
sutekirenai yume wo oikakete  
  
hokori takaku ai wa yomigaeru  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
"They're starting! Alright everybody, give it all you got!" Zidane smirked.  
  
Everyone in the group nodded and held their stance. But the dragon became displeased.   
  
"DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN STOP ME? YOU DO NOT HAVE THE POWER!" the Dragon spoke in a deep, dark voice.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
yuuyake no iro ga  
  
setsunaku kirei de  
  
tozashite-ita kokoro no umi ni koboreta  
  
namida  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
Just as the dragon began to move forward, a small rumbling in the ground at the center of the circle of the magic-users began. Not stopping their incantation, the young women continued on.   
  
"What is that?" Freya asked.  
  
"Don't know...hopefully it's part of their spell..." Squall tried to reply.  
  
The young SeeD leader was quite right in his guess.... the small rumbling suddenly became a miniature earthquake and the ground began to slowly break up. The Lifestream was rising above ground again! Was this a good sign? Not really...at least not to Zidane...  
  
"Damn...what's going on here? And that dragon is getting too close for comfort..." Zidane commented, placing his dagger beside his chest.  
  
Not wanting to waste a second more, Zidane quickly looked at the spell-casters before closing his eyes. It was now or nothing and felt he only had one choice to make now. Suddenly, the young hero began running...practically charging at the dragon. Zell noticed this...  
  
"Hey, are you friggin' nuts?! Get back here!" he cried after him.  
  
Both young men neared the dragon while everyone watched the whole scene before them. Suddenly, the two of them disappeared...without a trace.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
kagayaki wa nido to modoranai  
  
ashita fuku  
  
kaze no you na jiyuu ga hoshii  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
"FOOLS! DID ANY OF YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD APPROACH ME AND THINK I WOULD NOT HAVE SET UP SOME SORT OF TRAP OR BARRIER? AS I SAID, YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!" the dragon cackled.  
  
"Zell! Zidane!" Selphie cried.  
  
The dragon began laugh even more evily, watching Selphie cry. She could not let her friends disappear that way. Beginning to cast an attack spell, she looked more angered than sad.  
  
"Watch it!" Irvine yelled, quickly stepping in front of Selphie. But it was too late, both were gone in an instant.  
  
"What are you doing with our friends?!" Eiko screamed.  
  
"THEY ARE WONDERFUL SOURCES OF ENERGY. MY SUPREME DARK POWERS ALLOW ME TO TAKE ALL OF THEIR ENERGY UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF THEM. AND WHEN I HAVE ALL OF YOU, I SHALL BE UNBEATABLE." the dragon replied.  
  
"You monster!" Tifa gasped.  
  
"A MONSTER? HA!" and with that, Tifa suddenly disappeared.  
  
"They're all disappearing fast. At this rate, we're not gonna' have much of a chance against this guy." Tidus looked at Squall.  
  
"I know...where is Cloud?" Squall wondered.  
  
Fortunately the girls were not giving up. Even with the poisoned Lifestream, that seemed to remain under control, at least as the mages were casting, and the dragon that seemed to become an even more dangerous threat with every second that passed by, they continued on singing...  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
mune no oku de furuete'ru  
  
hikari to kage wo dakishimeta mama  
  
sutekirenai yume wo oikakete  
  
itsuka mitsuketai  
  
hateshinaku hirogaru mirai wo  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
The rest of the group, the members that were left, stood their ground and continued to protect the women as they continued to cast the spell. Soon a heavy, strong wind began to pick up. Like a tornado, the strong air looked as though it would lift everything and everyone off of the ground. Would the 'Final Summoning' be completed before the dragon would have a chance to attack?  
  
Suddenly, a scream could be heard nearby as yet more members of the team disappeared. Soon, the group was down to Squall, Tidus, Seifer, Freya, Vivi, and Auron who were the only ones to protect the girls.  
  
"This isn't good. Did Cloud really abondon us?" Freya questioned, holding down her hat.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
tatakau mainichi  
  
surechigau Hello, Good-bye  
  
kizitsukenai you ni aruite yuketara  
  
ii no ni  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
"OH, AND DID I FORGET TO MENTION THAT WITHOUT AT LEAST A STRONG MATERIA, IT IS POINTLESS TO EVEN TRY TO FIGHT AGAINST ME?" the dragon laughed maniacally.  
  
"Damn, you don't have anything?" Seifer looked at Squall, agitated.  
  
The SeeD leader slowly shook his head before taking a quick glance at the young women who continued to try to complete the spell.   
  
"Uh, guys...." Tidus tapped Auron on the shoulder.  
  
Everyone then turned to see the dragon much closer to them....dangerously closer.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
sora ni hourinageta kibou ga  
  
ameagari nanairo no niji wo egaite  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
"How long is this spell?" Vivi asked.  
  
"Don't know, but for our sake it better be done soon." Auron held his sword out in front of him.  
  
"Hey, check that out! Look at what they're doing to the Lifestream!" Seifer suddenly noticed.  
  
The small pool of Lifestream that had formed since the casting began was now glowing a much brighter green. It was a much nicer looking color, much different from the way it was before.   
  
"Yay, the spell is working!" Vivi jumped for joy.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
mune no oku de furuete'ru  
  
ai ga koware-sou ni naru toki mo  
  
inoru kimochi wo wasurenaide  
  
itsumo todoketai  
  
shinjite'ru mienai mirai wo  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
However, while everyone was paying attention to what was happening at the center of the group's casting, no one noticed that the dragon prepared for another attack, this time aimed at the group's defenders. They soon started to disappear...  
  
"Nooooo!!!!" a voice suddenly cried.  
  
It was Cloud! Dripping wet and extremely exhausted, he had made it back. He had not abandoned them. Making it back just in time, he launched the small white sphere that was in his hand. It made it to the group of mages, falling in the center of the circle. However, it did not fall...rather, it began to float.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
kimi ga oshiete kureta  
  
sono hakanasa mo sono tsuyosa mo  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
A sudden burst of light burst from the white materia, revealing a figure! No one could tell who or if it was an actual figure of a human, but it seemed to blind the dragon and give it pain.  
  
"He made it!" Freya cried.  
  
But it was too late, Squall and the rest of the defending group disappeared. Other than the girls who were casting, Cloud was the only other one left. Did he really make it in time?  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
mune no oku de furuete'ru  
  
kanashimi wo koete shimaitai  
  
yowai kokoro ni makenai you ni  
  
ai wo mamoritai  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
The bright light not only formed a figure, but it also seemed to grow larger and larger. The Lifestream also seemed to fuse with the light, making it much stronger and brighter. The dark dragon wailed in pain, shielding its eyes from the healing light. The materia's light obviously wasn't healing it.  
  
"This is the end..." Cloud whispered.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
mune no oku de furuete'ru  
  
hikari to kage wo dakishimeta mama  
  
sutekirenai yume wo oikakete  
  
hokori takaku ai wa  
  
yomigaeru kagayaku mirai ni  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
With those final words, the spell was complete. The ground began to shake more roughly now and seemed to break up. The shaking soon formed into an enormous earthquake as the dragon was torn apart by the power of the Lifestream and the White Materia.  
  
And with that, the bright light consumed everything before immediately dying down to immense darkness....  
  
......End....... 


	21. The Epilogue

Epilogue....  
  
Author: Suzaku no miko  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters, they belong to Square...Therefore I do not own anything, so please don't sue! The only thing I own is Angela, as she is my own made up character.  
  
Miko: Hey, everybody! I wasn't gonna' leave you hanging like that! This is the true ending to this story. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for your reviews and I really hope to write another story as good as this one. But I must say, this took a lot of time and sorry for the lagging time between chapter posts. I will try to do better next time. So, without further ado, here is the ending to "Final Fantasy: A Crossover". Please read and review! ^_^  
  
Cloud Strife was the first to awaken. But the first thing he woke up to was not something he was expecting....  
  
'Damn...this darkness again.... Am I dreaming again?' the young warrior thought to himself.  
  
Slowly rising to his feet, he lifted himself from his lying down position on the floor. Then suddenly, he remembered...  
  
The Earth was fighting back, just as it had before when they were battling Sephiroth. This time it was against an enormous dragon. There were the girls summoning and the rest of the group doing its best to defend them. The White Materia moving as one with the now healed Lifestream as it began to destroy the dragon...  
  
That's right! Where was everyone? What happened after that? Were they defeated after all? Did Sephiroth and the others really destroy everything?  
  
"You look lost again..." a voice suddenly stated.  
  
Cloud quickly turned around to see if someone was behind him. This same scene seemed to play around with his mind a lot. Although he finally did find Aeris in a situation just like this...was it her?  
  
"Aeris?" Cloud whispered, guessing.  
  
A giggle was his reply. Cloud was in no mood to play games. He quickly looked around to see if anything would pop out of the darkness. He just wanted to get home but most importantly, to find out where everyone was.  
  
"You really should learn to relax..." the voice sounded closer.  
  
Finally, Cloud turned around again, only this time to face a most happy Aeris.  
  
"Aeris! You're alive?!" Cloud exclaimed in disbelief.  
  
Her smile then turned into a slight frown. Looking down at the floor before raising her head again to face him, Aeris searched for the right words to say.  
  
"Yes....and no.... Because the White Materia is around, Cloud, I am able to interact with you. However, I still have to return..."   
  
Cloud also became serious. He knew...he remembered...everything....everything she had taught him.  
  
"To the planet?" he asked.  
  
"Yes...Remember, I explained to you that I was stuck and couldn't move. I couldn't return? Well, now that the obstacle is removed I am pretty much able to go now. But there is something I must know before I go..." Aeris replied.  
  
"What is that?" Cloud asked another question, a small lump forming in his throat.  
  
"What do you really want? What do you truly desire?" her question suddenly came out of nowhere.  
  
With a slightly confused and shocked expression on his face, Cloud soon began to ponder about his desires...things he wanted but would never really share with anyone else.  
  
".......I guess to finally have a peaceful world. To just live and not have to worry about guys like Sephiroth causing more problems and pain...." Cloud finally replied after a long moment of silence.  
  
"And that is what you really want?" Aeris asked.  
  
"Yeah, I mean...all of our lives, we basically had to fight to survive... I just want a world that's at peace and I can just live with everyone."  
  
"You were always so kind, Cloud...That's why I loved you so much."  
  
Cloud looked at Aeris with a slightly shocked expression on his face. Aeris had actually admitted her feelings to him! Noticing his shock, she giggled and smiled. But after several moments, Cloud's lips formed a pout.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Aeris stopped giggling.  
  
"But everyone is gone...not even the earth is still around. We're still in complete darkness..." Cloud explained.  
  
"Not so..."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"If you truly want it and wish for it, you will get everything back." she smiled.  
  
Cloud looked at her as if she had gone crazy. He knew that Aeris always had schemes but even this seemed to be impossible for her.  
  
"And just how are we going to do that?" Cloud placed a hand on his hip.  
  
"Just close your eyes and imagine yourself in a place you want to be right now and the people who you want to be with. The rest will handle itself. And when you feel ready, just open your eyes." as Aeris spoke, she suddenly began to glow.  
  
Cloud immediately recognized the glow. "...Aeris...You were the figure when the girls finished chanting! It was you! You were also the glowing from my dreams!"  
  
"Correct! Even though I did not have my human shape, it was I who helped you dream those dreams. I knew these incidents were going to happen and I used those dreams to guide you on what to do." Aeris winked.  
  
"You've helped me so much, Aeris...I wish there was some way to repay you." Cloud whispered.  
  
"You already have, Cloud..." Aeris said, gently hugging him.  
  
Cloud then closed his eyes and saw the vision of he and his friends, together again.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It's amazing what a little help from your friends can do. Now, Cloud was watching his friends....They were in a field, outside of Midgar, enjoying the sunny day by having a picnic. Tifa and Yuffie were playing a game of volleyball against Barrett and Red XIII, much against their will. Vincent lay on one side of a tree, under the shade with Cid on the opposite side. Cait Sith just sitting on the blanket, taking a nap. Turning around, Cloud then saw another scene before him.  
  
There were several people lying on the ground. Suddenly they began to stir.  
  
"Ow, my head...what happened?" the blonde-haired man rubbed his head.  
  
"Hey, we're back home!" another voice cried.  
  
"Squall, we did it!" a woman hugged the brown-haired man.  
  
Indeed they had made it home. Everyone was together again. Squall, Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Quistis, Angela, Seifer, and Irvine. They all rose from the ground and found they were near the Balamb Garden.  
  
"Well, kitten. We did it." Seifer hugged Angela.  
  
"I'm just so glad everything is over." Angela sighed.  
  
"Come on, it's time to go home." Quistis smiled.  
  
"Yeah, besides...I'm hungry." Zell pat his stomach.  
  
"We finally made it home and all you can think about is food?!"  
  
"Well...yeah... C'mon! Those hotdogs are waiting for me!"  
  
The rest of the group just smiled and they began to make their way to the Balamb Garden. Their home. To their well-deserved rest. This made Cloud smile and watched the scene slowly disappear from view. Slightly confused, Cloud turned to another side. Another scene suddenly appeared. This revealed more people.  
  
"Is everybody here?" the Burmecian female knight asked.  
  
"Your highness?! Where is the Queen?! Did you have anything to do with this?!" the knight exclaimed.  
  
"Hey, calm down, Rusty. She's right behind you..." Zidane rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yes, please...you're giving me a headache..." Amarant rubbed his head.  
  
"Really, Steiner. You should be trusting Zidane by now." Garnet smiled.  
  
"Maybe he just has his armor riding up on him or something..." Eiko giggled.  
  
"That's funny!" Vivi laughed as well.  
  
"No food not funny." Quina pouted.  
  
"S/he's right. Let's go home and we'll get something to eat." Zidane looked at the group.  
  
"RIGHT!" everyone yelled, in total agreement with him.  
  
And with that, everyone began to move down the trail back to their home, Alexandria. They all walked together. Zidane, Garnet, Steiner, Vivi, Freya, Amarant, Eiko, and Quina were in the group of friends. And they will never leave each other. As this scene slowly faded, Cloud noticed another one had already begun.   
  
This time, it was just a woman, standing at a beach, looking out into the ocean. When suddenly, a young man came up to her.....  
  
"Hey, Yuna. What are you doing here by yourself?" the young man asked.  
  
"Nothing really, Tidus...Just thinking." Yuna replied.  
  
"About everything that happened?"   
  
"Yes...and no.."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I'm also thinking about a special someone."  
  
This statement totally caught Tidus off guard. Yuna never really spoke like this unless it had to be someone extremely special. Who could this person be?  
  
"Like who?" Tidus swallowed the hard lump in his throat.  
  
"You." Yuna said, gently kissing his cheek.  
  
Tidus just looked at her with surprise and watched as she formed a smile. A special smile, just for him. And soon, he began to smile as well.  
  
"Hey, guys! Come on, the festival's about to start!" a voice cried.  
  
Both Yuna and Tidus slowly turned around to see it was their friends. They were smiling and waving.  
  
Taking one last look at each other, Tidus grabbed Yuna's hand and made their way over to the group.  
  
The group of Tidus, Yuna, Wakka, Lulu, Rikku, Auron, and Kimahri smiled happily and made their way back into the city. And they had every right to be happy. They were finally able to get rid of the source to all their problems. And now they could live on peacefully.  
  
"Hey, Cloud!" a voice suddenly cried, making Cloud turn his head from the already disappearing scene. It was Tifa.  
  
"Are you just gonna' stand there all day?!" obviously Yuffie was becoming impatient.  
  
"Yeah, come on or we're gonna' eat without you."  
  
"Cloud's always out of it."  
  
"I'm coming!" Cloud called back.  
  
But before going off to join his friends, Cloud looked up to the sky and made a small smile. "Thanks, Aeris...for everything..."  
  
He then quickly ran over to the blanket to join the group and eat.  
  
"I'll never forget you, Cloud..." and with that, Aeris' spirit was finally able to rest.  
  
~*~*THE END*~*~  
  
And in case anyone was wondering where our favorite Turks went...  
  
Reno, Elena, and Rude were all together, hanging out at the pub in Wutai. Reno then suddenly slammed down his drink onto the table.  
  
Reno: Hey! Where were we in all of this?! *slightly agitated*  
  
Elena: Um...remember when we were in the church? We left in the middle of the night..a little after Cloud left? *sweatdrop*  
  
Rude: ...*nods head in agreement*  
  
Reno: How come I don't remember that?  
  
Elena: Because you ran like a chicken when you saw that dragon throwing attacks. *rolls eyes*  
  
Rude:.....*nods again*  
  
Reno: Oh....oh well...*sits back down and sips his drink*  
  
Elena: *sighs, shaking her head*  
  
Rude: .....*also shakes his head*  
  
And this is truly....  
  
****THE END**** 


End file.
